Tekken 8 Teased at Evo by Harada and Bandai Namco

Tekken 8 has been announced… kinda. The latest entry into Bandai Namco’s fighting game was seemingly teased in with a tiny video reveal at Evo 2022. Initially a preview of a new update for Tekken 7, the video closed by showcasing protagonist/antagonist (depending on which side of the Mishima family civil war you fall on) Kazuya.

The shot emulated the iconic ending from the original Tekken, in which Kazuya drops Heihachi off the top of a cliff and into a Volcano. As Kazuya grins, the video changed to a new render, with a more familiar, modern Kazuya smirking. Text then read “Get Ready,” replicating the intro voiceover from earlier Tekken games.

But with no additional news and no confirmation, we're only speculating when we say this is Tekken 8. Game director Katsuhiro Harada didn’t help matters by teasing and retweeting the video and various responses to it. Harada is notorious for saying nothing and delivering big, so it could be the case that this is Tekken 8, and we’re just being played.

We unfortunately have next to no details on the game. No roadmap for the sunsetting of Tekken 7, and no more information that a smirking Kazuya. It’s really like Harada is smirking through that smile of Kazuya. 

The optimists among us will say that this hints at a 2023 release and a full reveal later this year. Earlier in 2022, Street Fighter 6 was revealed, and as one of Tekken’s main competitors, it would make sense that Bandai Namco would shoot back with their own reveal to keep their flagship fighting game as relevant as possible. Afterall, Street Fighter 6 is already seeing some overwhelming (and justified) hype.

Beyond this, we’re just waiting for more details. Tekken 7 isn’t exactly an out of date relic, and still has a huge player base and fan following. Tekken will also see a boost to its popularity with the release of the new Netflix show Tekken: Bloodline on August 18th. Overall, it’s a very exciting time to be a Tekken fan.