When Katsuhiro Harada left Bandai Namco back during December 2025, after decades of working on the company’s fighting games, including Tekken and Soulcalibur, I said to the team that I doubted he would be the only major name to depart. It looks like I may have been right, as Kohei Ikeda, who served as chief producer and game director on Tekken 8, has announced that he has also left Bandai Namco Studios.
Ikeda, also known to many Tekken fans as Nakatsu, had been with Bandai Namco for 20 years. His work includes Tekken 7, Tekken 8, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 3D: Prime Edition, and Soulcalibur IV. That is a long history with the company, and his departure comes at a very interesting time for Bandai Namco’s flagship fighting game series.
As for why Ikeda is leaving, he has only stated that he plans to continue taking on new challenges as a game developer. That leaves the door open for plenty of speculation, especially with Harada now leading VS Studio SNK, a newly formed SNK-backed studio. Of course, it is easy to wonder if Ikeda could eventually end up joining Harada there. Nothing has been confirmed, so for now, that is only speculation. Still, given the timing, fighting game fans are naturally going to start connecting those dots.
This also comes at a time when Tekken 8 has been dealing with plenty of frustration from its community. While the game launched strong, the post-launch conversation has not been all positive. Players have been vocal about balance changes, gameplay direction, and how Bandai Namco has handled feedback.
That is what makes this departure stand out even more. Harada leaving was already a massive shift for Tekken. Ikeda leaving shortly after makes that shift feel even bigger. These are not random names walking away from the series. These are developers who helped shape modern Tekken.
Bandai Namco now has to show that Tekken 8 is still in steady hands. The game is still active and still has a dedicated player base, but the studio needs to make sure the community feels like there is a clear direction going forward. Either way, Bandai Namco has now lost two major Tekken veterans, and that is not something fans are going to ignore.
