# The King of Fighters: Destiny
**The King of Fighters: Destiny** (拳皇命运, Japanese: ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ デスティニー) is a Chinese computer-generated (CG) animated web series based on SNK's *The King of Fighters* fighting game franchise. It was the first large-scale 3D animated work in the franchise, produced by the Chinese studio iDRAGONS Creative Studio (龙族创意工作室, Shanghai Jueli Culture Media) under authorization from SNK, and streamed weekly from August 3, 2017 to January 2018.[1](https://snk.fandom.com/wiki/The_King_of_Fighters%3A_Destiny) • [2](https://www.snkchina.com.cn/general/news/20170803/58062.html) • [3](https://theanimelist.net/anime/the-king-of-fighters-destiny)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Native title | 拳皇命运 (Quanhuang Mingyun)[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/31204/the-king-of-fighters-destiny) |
| Format | ONA web series, 24 episodes of roughly 16 minutes each[3](https://theanimelist.net/anime/the-king-of-fighters-destiny) |
| Original run | August 3, 2017 to January 2018; TVmaze lists the finale "DESTINY" on January 17, 2018, while TheAnimeList gives an end date of January 4, 2018[3](https://theanimelist.net/anime/the-king-of-fighters-destiny) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/31204/the-king-of-fighters-destiny) |
| Studio | iDRAGONS Creative Studio (龙族创意工作室), with SNK China authorization and SNK Japan as producer[3](https://theanimelist.net/anime/the-king-of-fighters-destiny) • [5](https://www.jiemian.com/article/1523531.html) |
| Story basis | Adapts material from *The King of Fighters '94* and the *Fatal Fury* series, building toward a Kyo Kusanagi versus Rugal Bernstein confrontation[6](https://store.steampowered.com/app/642890/1/12/?l=english) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/31204/the-king-of-fighters-destiny) |
| Languages | Chinese and Japanese dual-language versions, voiced by close to 100 voice actors from both countries[2](https://www.snkchina.com.cn/general/news/20170803/58062.html) |
| Viewership | SNK China reports total plays exceeding 800 million[7](https://www.snkchina.com.cn/mindex.shtml) |
## Spoilers
### Story and adaptation choices
The plot runs in parallel to the King of Fighters martial arts tournament, with Rugal orchestrating the event to control fighters through the Black Crystals and pursuing Orochi's power, and concentrates on [Kyo Kusanagi](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyo-kusanagi) facing dangerous challenges in South Town ten years after the tragedy that changed [Terry Bogard](https://www.edgepedia.org/terry-bogard)'s life.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/31204/the-king-of-fighters-destiny) • [19](https://store.steampowered.com/app/642890/1/2/) • [20](https://www.snk-corp.co.jp/us/press/2017/080401/) Because *The King of Fighters '94*, the game the season primarily adapts, carried little story of its own, the writers wove in the *Fatal Fury* storyline: much of the first half follows Terry and Andy Bogard seeking revenge on [Geese Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/geese-howard), including flashbacks to their father's death and a showdown on top of Geese Tower that ends with the tyrant thrown from the roof, as in several *Fatal Fury* game endings.[12](https://hoganreviews.co.uk/2018/08/30/the-king-of-fighters-destiny-season-1-overall-review/) The series also links Rugal to Orochi rather than introducing him fresh, and adapts the story of the first *Art of Fighting* game through a flashback centered on the fighter King.[12](https://hoganreviews.co.uk/2018/08/30/the-king-of-fighters-destiny-season-1-overall-review/)
The Japanese voice cast included Tomoaki Maeno as Kyo Kusanagi, Takashi Kondo as Terry Bogard, Ami Koshimizu as [Mai Shiranui](https://www.edgepedia.org/mai-shiranui), and Daiki Takakura as [Ryo Sakazaki](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryo-sakazaki), among others. The series was directed by Yang Yifeng, written by a team including Wang Ting, Yu Xiang, and Liu Yingling, with music by Yu-Peng Chen and Guo Shensheng.[13](https://lookupvod.com/en/tv/73321-the-king-of-fighters-destiny)
## Announcement and production
SNK announced the series on March 21, 2017 as a fully CG animation series of 20 episodes featuring historical popular characters of the KOF series such as Kyo Kusanagi, Terry Bogard, Mai Shiranui, and Ryo Sakazaki, with a Japanese dub by a cast of well-known voice actors and release planned from summer 2017 starting in China.[8](https://www.snk-corp.co.jp/press/2017/032103/) Crunchyroll's report on the announcement noted that a mix of Chinese and Japanese voice actors was involved and that some of the staff behind the special effects of the *Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV* movie were on the team.[9](https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2017/3/21/the-king-of-fighters-destiny-cg-animated-series-coming-to-china)
**Chinese-Japanese cooperation.** Production was split across several parties: SNK China handled authorization and funding, iDRAGONS Creative Studio did the production, the company 幻维数码 (Magic Digital) provided technical support and effects, SNK's Japan headquarters served as producer, and the Japanese company 东北新社 participated in co-production.[5](https://www.jiemian.com/article/1523531.html) The core team at iDRAGONS had previously worked on Chinese animated projects including *The Storm Rider*, the *Qin's Moon* feature film, *Kuiba*, and *Ten Thousand Cold Jokes*.[2](https://www.snkchina.com.cn/general/news/20170803/58062.html) The episode count ultimately reached 24 rather than the 20 announced at the March 2017 press release.[3](https://theanimelist.net/anime/the-king-of-fighters-destiny) • [8](https://www.snk-corp.co.jp/press/2017/032103/)
## Release
The series premiered on August 3, 2017. In China it updated weekly at noon on Thursdays across Youku, Tencent Video, Bilibili, iQiyi, LeTV, Mango TV, Sohu Video, Migu, and PPTV.[10](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E6%8B%B3%E7%9A%87%E5%91%BD%E8%BF%90/20496625) SNK China describes it as a large-scale 3D hot-blooded fighting animation seasonal series released worldwide on that date, with total plays surpassing 800 million.[7](https://www.snkchina.com.cn/mindex.shtml) The final episode, "DESTINY", aired on January 17, 2018 according to TVmaze's episode list; TheAnimeList records the airing period as ending January 4, 2018.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/31204/the-king-of-fighters-destiny) • [3](https://theanimelist.net/anime/the-king-of-fighters-destiny)
In the West, SNK released the series on Steam as a free-to-watch collection described as "20+ episodes of short movies that tell the entire KOF story from start to end, in gorgeously rendered CGI, voiced in Japanese with English subs."[11](https://store.steampowered.com/app/642890/?mobile-app=true&theme=false) All episodes were also uploaded to SNK's YouTube channel.[12](https://hoganreviews.co.uk/2018/08/30/the-king-of-fighters-destiny-season-1-overall-review/)
## Tie-in mobile game
The animation shares its name and setting with a licensed mobile fighting game, 《拳皇命运》, developed by Yinhan Games and published exclusively by Tencent. The game began its open test on May 17, 2018 and reached first place on Apple's App Store iPhone free chart within 24 hours of launch; SNK's announcement explicitly notes the game's connection to the animated series of the same name.[14](https://www.snkchina.com.cn/general/game/20180517/58997.html) A Tencent quarterly report from 2017 lists the game as an MMORPG under exclusive license, built on the animation IP with SNK's official authorization, entering testing in June 2017.[15](https://img3.gelonghui.com/pdf201711/pdf20171119185235893.pdf)
## Reception and follow-ups
On Steam the series holds a "Very Positive" overall rating, with 276 positive reviews out of 296. Reviewers there generally judged the animation quality as uneven but praised the fight scenes, which they described as recreating KOF gameplay down to the sound effects, and the use of the characters' original Japanese voice actors.[11](https://store.steampowered.com/app/642890/?mobile-app=true&theme=false) Press coverage was more mixed: SideQuesting called the CG work "barely decent" while noting it carried a classic early-1990s cartoon feel for series fans.[16](https://www.sidequesting.com/2017/11/saturday-morning-cartoons-king-of-fighters-destiny/)
Shortly after the first season ended in China, iDRAGONS Creative Studio announced plans for second and third seasons that would tell the rest of the KOF story, along with a film project; the announced film later surfaced as *The King of Fighters: Awaken*, listed as the series' sequel.[17](https://games.sina.com.cn/t/n/2018-01-09/fyqiwuw8530227.shtml) • [3](https://theanimelist.net/anime/the-king-of-fighters-destiny) A Macmillan trade catalog from 2019 also described further seasons and a feature-length film as in development at that time.[18](https://webservices.macmillan.com/macmillan-us/maccatalog/assets/previous/SSE_Spring-2020_08_2019.pdf)
## References
1. [The King of Fighters: Destiny, SNK Wiki (Fandom)](https://snk.fandom.com/wiki/The_King_of_Fighters%3A_Destiny)
2. [特瑞开启复仇之路 《拳皇命运》今日全网首播！, SNK China official site](https://www.snkchina.com.cn/general/news/20170803/58062.html)
3. [The King of Fighters: Destiny, TheAnimeList](https://theanimelist.net/anime/the-king-of-fighters-destiny)
4. [The King of Fighters: Destiny, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/31204/the-king-of-fighters-destiny)
5. [拳皇3D动画今天开播了，国产建模的画风你接受吗？, 界面新闻 JMedia](https://www.jiemian.com/article/1523531.html)
6. [THE KING OF FIGHTERS: DESTINY on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/642890/1/12/?l=english)
7. [SNK中国官方网站](https://www.snkchina.com.cn/mindex.shtml)
8. [プレスリリース：CGアニメーションシリーズ『THE KING OF FIGHTERS： DESTINY』を発表！, SNK (2017)](https://www.snk-corp.co.jp/press/2017/032103/)
9. ["The King of Fighters: Destiny" CG-Animated Series Coming to China, Crunchyroll News](https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2017/3/21/the-king-of-fighters-destiny-cg-animated-series-coming-to-china)
10. [拳皇命运, Baidu Baike](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E6%8B%B3%E7%9A%87%E5%91%BD%E8%BF%90/20496625)
11. [THE KING OF FIGHTERS: DESTINY on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/642890/?mobile-app=true&theme=false)
12. [The King of Fighters: Destiny Season 1 Overall Review, Hogan Reviews](https://hoganreviews.co.uk/2018/08/30/the-king-of-fighters-destiny-season-1-overall-review/)
13. [Where to watch The King of Fighters: Destiny (2017), LookUpVOD](https://lookupvod.com/en/tv/73321-the-king-of-fighters-destiny)
14. [SNK正版授权格斗手游《拳皇命运》5月17日上线, SNK China official site](https://www.snkchina.com.cn/general/game/20180517/58997.html)
15. [腾讯2017Q3短评报告 (Tencent Q3 2017 report)](https://img3.gelonghui.com/pdf201711/pdf20171119185235893.pdf)
16. [Saturday Morning Cartoons: King of Fighters: Destiny, SideQuesting](https://www.sidequesting.com/2017/11/saturday-morning-cartoons-king-of-fighters-destiny/)
17. [龙族创意工作室宣布《拳皇：命运》动画将推出第二第三季 电影计划中！, Sina Games](https://games.sina.com.cn/t/n/2018-01-09/fyqiwuw8530227.shtml)
18. [The King of Fighters, Macmillan Spring 2020 catalog PDF](https://webservices.macmillan.com/macmillan-us/maccatalog/assets/previous/SSE_Spring-2020_08_2019.pdf)
19. [THE KING OF FIGHTERS: DESTINY on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/642890/1/2/)
20. [3D Animation Series 『THE KING OF FIGHTERS: DESTINY』 The eposide 1 is now available for free!｜PRESS RELEASE｜SNK Corporation](https://www.snk-corp.co.jp/us/press/2017/080401/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Anime and manga › Anime series, episodes, and franchises › OVAs, ONAs, and streaming-original anime*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license