Tekken 8 to Include Extensive SP Content; Guest Characters Absent from Launch Roster

Tekken 8 game director Katsuhiro Harada has assured fans that they have plenty of single-player content in the game.

Recently, the game had a closed network test on the PS5 which appears to have caught the attention of all the professional players as well as fans. In a set of tweets that answered some of the questions of the fans, the game director confirmed that there are no plans to focus on the eSports aspects of Tekken 8.

A fan was skeptical about the new character reveals, the director stressed that they will have a story mode, different single-player modes, and more. They will be able to share more details about it as the game will get closer to launch.

“As I have said before, Tekken has been a pioneer since the 90’s in packaging not only competitive tools, but also single-player playable modes, extra modes, and storylines. I can’t mention the details now, but we’ll be able to tell you more about it before the release date,” said Harada.

“Yeah of course important. We are happy to see the rise of modern esports, but before that, we also very much value the completeness and value of the game as a packaged game,” replied Harada to another fan.

Harada also confirmed that they don’t have any plans to bring guest characters in the initial roster as it happened with Akuma. While Akuma was later confirmed to be a key part of the story in the Tekken franchise, and thus he is no longer labeled as a guest character, Harada hasn’t shared any plans on bringing more of them.

Tekken 7 had many guest characters including Noctics, Negan, and Geese. They characters ended up being the favorites of the professional players and went through some nerfs as well.

It might not be a surprise to see guest characters coming to Tekken 8 as well, but that might happen once the game is out and the launch roster is finalized, as the team is still going through developing and finalizing the complete roster.

Tekken 8 is currently slated to launch sometime later in 2024 for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series.