At Sony’s September PlayStation State of Play show yesterday, Bandai Namco officially confirmed that Tekken 8 is under development. Ever since the developers dropped a teaser at EVO 22 last month, speculation has been rife regarding its release.
Katsuhiro Harada, Executive Producer and Director at Bandai revealed in a blog post that the clip, although it might look like a pre-rendered cinematic trailer, is actually real-time rendered footage captured directly from the game’s in-progress story mode. It showcases how Tekken 8’s gameplay would look on a Playstation 5, running at 60 FPS.
Tekken to explore new direction
Initially there was some confusion as to whether the next edition of Tekken would be a remaster of an old storyline, or whether it would feature a brand-new game. The franchise has been around since 1994, holding the record for the longest-running video game story, and Harada confirmed that its lineage continues with Tekken 8.
Fans have had to wait a while for the next series to drop, Tekken 7 having released way back in 2015 for the PlayStation 4, with the Xbox and PC variant releasing two years later. Since then however it has received steady updates even as recently as last month following the new game’s teaser at Evo 2022.
The released scene depicts a fierce showdown between father and son Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama with a dark, stormy backdrop. According to Harada, all the character models, backgrounds, and effects are the same ones that will be used throughout the game. As the trailer concludes, the clip cuts to the iconic original sequence from the
Harada emphasised that the purpose of this release was not to dive into the narrative, but rather to showcase the high-quality visuals and models that players can expect from the new game. He said:
“If you pay attention to the background during the battle, you can see dynamic waves and tornadoes, a huge tanker gradually breaking apart, storm rendering so realistic that you can feel the wind pressure, the density of the rain.”
He added that some of the effects such as the dialogue and camera angle are still being updated, and are subject to change whenever the game does eventually launch.
Unreal Engine 5 in fully glory for Tekken 8
There is a stark improvement in the graphic quality of Tekken 8, built on Unreal Engine 5 compared to the game’s predecessor which launched seven years ago.
“These are all battle stage effects to be used in this title,” Harada explained. “We are of course working hard to enhance the quality even further. In the latest version of the work-in-progress build, the quality is dynamically improving each day, with the giant tanker moving closer to the shore in the background and large flames flare up near where the character is standing.”
Although the trailer for the game was showcased during PlayStation’s State of Play event, it won’t be a PS exclusive and will be geared towards next-gen consoles. Bandai confirmed that the game will also be released on PC via Steam and the Xbox Series X|S. There hasn’t been a release date announced yet, Harada explaining that the game will remain in development for some time implying that it’s likely to be out in 2024 or later.
