Last year, Bandai Namco released a free demo for Tekken 8 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, allowing players to get a taste of the game including four playable characters and a handful of modes. The demo was very well-received, it seems. According to the game’s director, Katsuhiro Harada, it helped boost Tekken 8‘s pre-orders as players walked away from the demo with greater anticipation for the full release later this month.
Speaking on Twitter/X, Katsuhiro Harada stated that Tekken 8 “attracted very positive feedback and pre-orders are steadily increasing.” In most cases, demos are meant to be showcases of the final product with the goal of bringing more attention to the game. However, free demos are increasingly rare today with most fighting games opting to go for timed or closed betas instead. The Tekken 8 demo can be downloaded whenever you want and tried out at any time before making the purchase, which is great.
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Tekken 8 is the eighth mainline entry in the long-running Tekken fighting game series. Bandai Namco promises that the new entry will feature a bigger story mode than Tekken 7, which delivered a relatively short story mode that was met with a mixed reception. The gameplay is also introducing new features and mechanics such as the Heat System, a burst mechanic that encourages players to be as aggressive as possible in fights. We’ll also see the return of Rage Drives and Rage Arts first introduced in Tekken 7.
The TEKKEN8 demo, which is now available, has attracted very positive feedback and preorders are steadily increasing. Thank you all for your support.
And we will be fixing the problems found in the demo version in the full product version. Please wait for a while for the release.— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) January 5, 2024
We’ve covered almost every character trailer released for Tekken 8 so make sure to catch up on all the fighters. Additionally, the game will also feature crossplay and rollback netcode for a smoother online experience.
Tekken 8 launches on 26 January 2024 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Make sure you also check out the South African pre-order guide for the game including its various editions available to purchase right now.
Source: Katsuhiro Harada