When was the Tekken 8 release date? Believe it or not, the gap between Tekken 7 hitting consoles and this sparkling new entry into the series is a whopping seven years. That’s a long wait, but the thirst for Tekken 8 is finally quenched for players on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
With a stellar lineup of new, reworked, and returning Tekken 8 characters and some gorgeous arenas to do battle in, Tekken has never looked so good. Following in closely in the footsteps of both a new Street Fighter and a new Mortal Kombat game, Tekken 8 still has more than enough going for it to become one of the best fighting games of this generation. Here’s all the information you need on the game.
Tekken 8 release date
The Tekken 8 release date was Friday, January 26, 2024, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The game won’t be coming to Xbox One or PS4. The game was released just after the 2024 Tekken World Tour.
This release date saw Tekken 8 arrive at the tail-end of a remarkable streak of new titles from the ‘big three’ fighting game franchises over the last few months. It follows Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 to cap off this remarkable trio.
Tekken 8 was first revealed at Sony’s State of Play in September 2022, and our hands-on preview of Tekken 8 during its closed beta test in 2023 had us feeling confident in the January release date Bandai Namco had set.
While the game suffered no delays in terms of development taking longer than expected, it was suggested by executive producer and Tekken legend Katsuhiro Harada that the game was initially meant to release in the summer of 2023, but was pushed back by six months to avoid clashing with the release of Street Fighter 6.
Tekken 8 story
Tekken 8’s story mode focuses on Kazuya vs Jin and the father-and-son showdown between them. That’s all we’re going to say for now, to avoid spoilers.
The story trailer debuted at The Game Awards and gave us an impressive look at the environments and action-packed narrative you can expect to be a part of:
Tekken 8 gameplay
The Tekken 8 gameplay loop should feel incredibly familiar for long-time fans of the series, and from what we played we certainly feel that it’s more of an iterative improvement over Tekken 7, rather than a quantum leap. Tekken’s Tekken, after all. However, you will notice plenty of tweaks, changes, and even new additions to the new fighting game.
For starters, Tekken 8 places a lot of focus on the environments, dynamics arenas, and backgrounds which bring the series to life in a new way.
Director Katsuhiro Harada mentions in a PlayStation Blog post that the team spent a lot of time on the detail in the character’s faces, skin, and models, as well as particle effects like water and how they interact with the fighters. On top of that, Harada also draws attention to the aforementioned backgrounds which feature storm rendering, immense weather density, and dynamic backgrounds like a huge tanker falling apart.
Harada also went in-depth on some of the new mechanics in the game in a deep dive presentation covering Rage, the recovery gauge, the Heat system, and more. You can watch that below:
The new Heat system makes your character “substantially more powerful”, and can be accessed either through an in-game macro or by landing powerful Heat Engagers – moves that “not only blow your opponent backward into a staggered state that allows you to freely pressure them but will also recover your health.” If you like to play aggressively, then Heat will help enable your playstyle.
The Gamescom 2023 trailer below also focused on a brand new multiplayer arcade mode where you can create your own avatar and fight. It’s a pretty wild combination of modes and ideas and appears to be a mix of Street Fighter 6’s Battle Hub, and classic arcade modes. You will also be able to gain special cosmetics, fight in tournaments, and group up with other avatars.
So those are the key bits of information you need about Bandai’s fighting game, including the Tekken 8 release date. Check out some of the other new PS5 games and new Xbox games that are in the works, or read up on Tekken 8 crossplay and Tekken 8’s rollback netcode for more info on the game’s multiplayer systems.