Undercover Cops
Image: Irem

Earlier this week, we reported on the news that former Irem, Nazca and SNK designer Akio Oyabu was mulling over a return to the world of pixel art – and, just a few days later, one of his former colleagues has done the same.

Meeher is credited as the creator of Irem's Undercover Cops and would work with Akio at Nazca on Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X and Metal Slug 3. He would later join SNK, where he contributed to several titles, including Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden (also known as Samurai Shodown RPG).

According to Google Translate, Meeher's message reads:

A long time ago, I was involved in production as a planner at Irem, SNK & Playmore, and Granzella.

Representative works include Undercover Cops, Geostorm, Metal Slug 1-3, Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsuden, Pachislot Jean Jean Series, and Metal Slug SV-001.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your warm support.

Meeher has been absent from the industry for ten years and says he is considering a return to game development as an indie.

Given the proximity of these two announcements, one has to wonder – are they linked? Could we see these former Irem staffers create some new games?

Let us know what you think with a comment below.