The King of Fighters XIV takes place four years after the 2010 events of The King of Fighters XIII. A Russian billionaire named Antonov buys the rights to the King of Fighters competitions to host a new tournament in which veterans and newcomers compete. Following the competition, the chosen faces Antonov. In the aftermath, the winning team must confront a strange, threatening entity named Verse. This anomaly attracts characters from other dimensions, timelines and universes. Following Verse's defeat, some characters take missions to confront people revived through this mysterious enemy.