After months of Tekken 8 Closed Beta Tests, character reveals, and sneaky gameplay leaks, Bandai Namco is finally ready to release the Tekken 8 demo. The legendary series’ upcoming installment follows a slew of excellent fighting games that have dropped this year, giving it big fist wraps to fill. However, Xbox players must wait a bit longer than their PS5 counterparts.
As shared on the official Tekken Twitter account, you’ll be able to play the Tekken 8 demo on PS5 on December 14 – a week ahead of those eagerly awaiting what is shaping up to be one of the best fighting games on Xbox and PC. While a reason for the delay hasn’t been given, we can imagine that there’s some sort of deal in place with Sony – perhaps as an extension of the PS5-exclusive content that is being offered as a pre-order bonus.
The Tekken 8 demo follows a Closed Network Test in July, as well as a Closed Beta Test in October. During the CNT we were able to get our fists into one of 2024’s most highly-anticipated new PS5 games, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In our Tekken 8 preview, we were blown away by the level of optimization and visual fidelity that had been baked into it. We further remark that Tekken 8’s new Heat system makes it “a game that rewards the players far more for being aggressive than Tekken 7 did” – something we’re particularly looking forward to taking full advantage of in the final version.
A new PlayStation Blog post dropped alongside the announcement, showcasing the new mode Arcade Quest which we hope will bring with it the spirit of chilling in an arcade with your pals, as well as the return of Tekken Ball after a decade-long absence. This volleyball-dodgeball hybrid isn’t just a fun way to blow off steam after taking a fat L, but it’ll also help you improve your block timings and more.
When the Tekken 8 release date rolls around you’ll be treated to Jin Kazama’s continued fight against his father, Kazuya Mishima, who has leveraged megacorporation G Corp to wage war against the world. Each of the Tekken 8 characters has been either impacted by the conflict, or more directly by the Devil Gene possessed by Jin and Kazuya, making this a supernatural affair in every sense.
While Team Green will have to wait a little longer to check out the latest fighter to join the catalog of new Xbox games, we’re confident that patience will be rewarded. 2023 has been a massive year for fighting game releases thanks to the launches of Mortal Kombat 1 and Street Fighter 6 – the latter of which got the gong for the best fighting game at The Game Awards 2023. Heading into 2024, Bandai Namco will be eager to one-up Capcom’s latest and greatest, setting the standard for the year’s releases.