For those of you who are still hoping to see Tekken 8 make the jump back to the last-gen consoles: we’ve got bad news for you. The Tekken 8 release window for January 24, 2023, explicitly stated that Tekken 8 will be coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. However, there are always that special someone who wants to reach out and get a different response.
Katsuhiro Harada – the current Tekken Project Director who has worked on three decades of Tekken projects – reiterated for that special someone. His answer was in Japanese, but Eventhubs translated it:
“Since [Tekken 8] is a completely next generation-developed project, there are no plans for this,”
完全次世代プラットフォーム開発なので、その予定はありません。 https://t.co/9f02OpeDjV
— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) November 18, 2023
A possible reason for the focus could be the fact that Tekken 8 itself is utilizing Unreal Engine 5(via Gamerant). Thanks to this, 2017’s Tekken 7 models are not used in for this title. Harada confirmed this in an IGN interview last year. Originally, the game’s production started on Unreal Engine 4 before the assets were brought over to Unreal 5, Harada stated. Tekken 7 dropped the in-house engine similar to other studios with this practice. I couldn’t imagine Tekken 8 still keeping form on anything not current-gen and still looking this good. Framerate, lag, and match connectivity, included.
Tekken is joining Mortal Kombat 1 in terms of leaving last-gen behind in the ring-based genre. The latest battle for Earthrealm was released on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S in September. Of course, I’m trying to forget the Nintendo Switch part of this release. Street Fighter 6 stuck to keeping Xbox One out but kept PS4 in play. Between the other titles, Tekken 8 would be the most graphically heavy fighter among the three major releases. Tekken is a 3D fighter with more demands than the two 2D hybrid fighters mentioned.
One Entry Per Generation?
This will be the first Tekken game to be solely on the current generation so far. As for the series as a whole, over the years, Tekken has always went all the way in and usually having two games per gaming generation, starting from from Tekken 4 on the PlayStation 2. Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken 5 were the next few to be released on the system. Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 made their way to the post 128-bit run. Tag 2 also made an appearance on the short-lived Nintendo Wii-U.
There were updated versions of Tekken 5(in the form of Tekken Dark Ressurection) and Tekken Tag HD for PS3. This time, the games came out for both Xbox 360 and PS3. Tekken 7 was also a solo act for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in terms of a Tekken title for both consoles during the last-gen.
Since Haradasan has dropped his usual guard, maybe it’s a good time to ask him about seeing Kunimitsu, Baek Dosan, and Bruce Irving coming back in DLC form, and a possible Sifu collaboration.
I mean, it’s worth a shot.
Update: Spoke too soon.
Tekken 8 will be launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam) on January 26th, 2023
