Tekken 8, the highly anticipated upcoming fighting game from Bandai Namco, was apparently scheduled to launch around the same time as Capcom’s Street Fighter 6 but director Katsuhiro Harada decided to move Tekken 8‘s release to January 2024 in order to avoid any conflict with the other fighter.
Harada explained this decision in a recent video diary where he talked about various aspects and challenges of developing Tekken 8. One point mentioned in the diary was the original release date, which coincidentally seemed to drop on the same day as Street Fighter 6, though Harada simply refers to it as “that title” in the video. The director and Bandai Namco decided to shift Tekken 8‘s date back a few months in order to avoid Street Fighter 6, which occupied the June/July or summer 2023 bracket.
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While Mortal Kombat 1 could’ve also been a factor in Bandai Namco’s decision to launch Tekken 8 in early 2024, Harada seems to be referring specifically to Street Fighter 6. I guess the Mortal Kombat franchise isn’t that much of a threat compared to Capcom’s flagship fighter, which currently holds some of the highest review scores of the year.
The marketing for Tekken 8 is still going strong with Bandai Namco recently confirming that the game will feature the long-awaited return of Tekken Ball mode, a fun mini-game that was first introduced in the series in Tekken 3. Additionally, Bandai Namco also unveiled new characters coming to the new installment such as Feng Wei. The company says that the story mode for Tekken 8 will be much bigger than Tekken 7 too, which was short and a bit disappointing for many players.
Tekken 8 launches on 26 January 2024 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Make sure you check out the game’s various editions through our handy South African pre-order guide.
Source: Katsuhiro Harada
