A new Tekken 8 trailer from Gamescom Opening Night Live was packed with a slew of new information, including the approaching release date, a new game mode, and some returning characters among other things. Here’s the breakdown of everything we learned.
When is the Tekken 8 Release Date?
Tekken 8 will release on January 26th, 2024, for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. This is shown at the end of the trailer, but it’s certainly the news that many have been waiting for. A lot of players had correctly assumed that it would launch after the Tekken World Tour 2023 finals on January 14th, although I’m not sure anybody thought it would happen so soon after.
You can also begin pre-ordering for the next Iron Fist Tournament. There are options for a Standard Edition, Deluxe Edition, and Ultimate Edition. Bandai Namco’s Website has an exclusive Collector’s Edition which comes with some physical goodies such as a Jin figurine with LED lights.
A New Tekken Game Mode – Arcade Quest
The trailer revealed a new single-player game mode called Arcade Quest. It tasks you with making a chibi avatar and fighting against players at different arcades. This includes a separate story that is meant to be familiar to those who grew up in the arcade scene and also got into eSports.
It’s hard to not make recent comparisons to Street Fighter 6 and their battle hub with what we’ve seen. There are plenty of NPCs around, arcade cabinets to fight others at, and an entire store to dress your avatar with new duds. Nonetheless, it’s still going to be much different since it’s single-player only.
Tekken 8 Roster Size and Returning Characters Revealed
Tekken 8 will have 32 characters available at launch. It’s a little less than what Tekken 7 had at launch, and certainly less than what that entry had after all of the DLC, but it’s still a hefty amount in comparison to fighters like Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1.
Related: Tekken 8 Azucena Gameplay Trailer, Raven Gameplay Trailer
Six returning characters were also announced with this trailer, including some real fan favorites. We now have confirmation of the following fighters returning:
- Dragunov
- Kuma
- Leo
- Shaheen
- Steve
- Yoshimitsu
Some of these characters won’t come across as too much of a surprise, as three of them were included in a rumored leak from last month. Given that the leak was correct with Raven’s return as well as Shaheen, one of the less popular newcomers in Tekken 7, it’s difficult to not give more expectations towards the next characters. Lucky guesses exist though, so we still recommend taking any leak with a grain of salt.
Tekken 8 Character Customization Confirmed
It just wouldn’t be a Tekken game unless there was character customization involved. There was a quick look at the different options during the trailer. From cat ears to top hats to classic costumes (yes, even for Paul), there should be plenty of variety. Asuka and Lili will even be able to wear each other’s costumes, although that could be just a rare instance.
We still have eight more characters to be revealed and a five-month window to learn more about them. We’ll be keeping an eye out for any more Tekken 8 news as we get closer to the January 26th, 2024 release date.
