Tekken 7 received its final DLC character in March 2021 and has sold more than 9 million copies according to series producer Katsuhiro Harada. Despite the game being around for seven years, it still attracts a large enough audience to be included in the Evolution Championship 2022 lineup. But this year fans were treated to a shocking surprise in the form of a short and massively cryptic trailer. While we know extraordinarily little about what this new Tekken project officially is, there are some teases as to what fans can expect.
Is there a Tekken 8 trailer?
Sort of. The mysterious nature of the newest Tekken Project means there is little concrete information to go off beside a Tekken 7 announcement from Bandai Namco concerning a new update. However, the announcement ended with a mysterious cut to the ending cutscene of the original Tekken. The scene sees Kazuya Mishima throwing his father off a cliff, as Kazuya smirks into the camera. It cuts to the same shot of Kazuya in high-quality modern graphics and the Tekken announcer telling fans to “Get Ready.”
To make this all the more chaotic, series Director Katsuhiro Harda then appeared on the Evo stage and shakes the commentators, and then leaves just as suddenly without uttering a single word about anything that just transpired.
Does Tekken 8 have a release date?
No. This project seems to be in the initial stages so nothing more has been shared from Bandai Namco. Tekken 8 was mentioned in the infamous Nvidia leak from late 2021 that has included now confirmed titles like Dragon’s Dogma 2 and the Resident Evil 4 remake. While this in no way confirms more information about Tekken 8, it does speak to the continued accuracy of the leak.
What changes are coming to Tekken 7?
Of course, the only concrete information we have from the shocking announcements in regard to Tekken 7. The trailer focused on an upcoming free update for the game that will see balance adjustments and new tactics. It was also announced that the Tekken World Tour Grand Finals will be held in Amsterdam from February 4 through 5 2022.
What platforms will Tekken 8 be on?
Again, no official confirmation on what platforms the new Tekken project will come to. As the project was just announced it is likely that whatever the project is, it will only be released for current consoles and PC.
Will Tekken 8 be a reboot?
The biggest question that this perplexing trailer brings forth is what actually is this new Tekken project. The safest and most logical answer would be that this is Tekken 8. It has been seven years since the initial release of Tekken 7, so the series is long overdue for a new entry. Tekken 7 is only on PS4, Xbox One, and PC so to keep up with the modern console cycle it makes sense to develop a new title for the current console generation. Tekken 8 would be the tenth Tekken game and the eighth mainline title. However, there is another possibility.
This new Tekken project could be a reboot for the franchise. The first hint that this could be the case is the choice of cutscene for the cryptic announcement. What would possess the team to show the first game’s ending cutscene just to cut to a high tec recreation of the last shot? This heavily implies that they could be rebooting and reinventing the franchise.
