Publisher Ignition Entertainment today announced that The King of Fighters XII would be releasing worldwide in July 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The classic hand-drawn backgrounds will be back in high-definition and hopes to being the re-birth of the series. The game’s developer, Masaaki Kukino, comments:

“Our development slogan for KOFXII is “KOF Re-Birth” and we’ve aimed to create an entirely new King of Fighters game. To make this a truly unique fighting game, we’ve revolutionized the graphics by creating state of the art visuals – and made no compromises in that process whatsoever.

Ignition Entertainment’s Shane Bettenhausen adds:

“I couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to commemorate The King of Fighter’s 15-Year Anniversary than with a gorgeously animated, high-definition installment that updates the KOF legacy for a new generation.

“While other fighting games have abandoned the time-consuming process of creating beautiful 2D art, KOFXII fully embraces the refined aesthetic beauty that only human hands can produce.”

Thanks to Gamezine.co.uk