KOF XV 's latest trailer showcases Team Ikari and a brand-new stage

Returning to the two-character format for this week's reveal, the Ikari Warriors Ralf Jones and Clark Still join team captain Leona Heidern as the second and third members of Team Ikari. The trailer showcased updated models clearly based on their look in KOF XIV, but with added details and even more expressive animations that put these new designs leagues above their previous iterations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmlhLZOMwkE

We also can't go without mentioning the fantastic new stage shown off in this trailer, a desert-oasis locale filled with crashed aircraft and wrecked vehicles (including a Martian UFO), boxer-clad POW's, weapon powerups, and the eponymous Metal Slug from the series of the same name. It's a gorgeous stage, full of references and nods the long running franchise that's also a perfect thematic fit for the Ikari Warriors.

This reveal coincides with the release of another trailer for TiMi Studios' new Metal Slug mobile title, but fans will be aware that the run-and-gun platformer has crossed over with KOF (and the Ikari Warriors in particular) many times before, from having Fio Germi, one of the four selectable heroes from Metal Slug 2 onwards, included as an assist striker in KOF '99 and 2000 and as a playable unlock in KOF Maximum Impact 2 (known in the west as The King of Fighters 2006) to that time team captain Leona was a DLC character in Metal Slug XX.

Does this degree of fanservice hint at more crossover content to come? Maybe, but even if this proves not be the case KOF XV is looking better and better with each passing week and is shaping up to be a gorgeous high-profile installment in one of the FGC's most treasured franchises, as this week's showcase demonstrates in spades.

The King of Fighters XV is slated for release later this year.