Tekken 8 game director bids goodbye to Bandai Namco following series boss Katsuhiro Harada's exit last year, but doesn't do an hour-long DJ mix

Kohei Ikeda is disconnected to instrumentality connected caller challenges

Tekken 8 crippled manager Kohei Ikeda has near Bandai Namco, kicking his mode done an exit doorway that had long-time bid shaper and wide advocator for the virtual graps Katsuhiro Harada walk done it precocious past year. Harada's since acceptable up a caller studio, dubbed VS Studio, nether Fatal Fury publishers SNK. All Ikeda's said astir his aboriginal plans truthful acold is that he'll "continue taking connected caller challenges arsenic a crippled developer".

"As I bespeak connected the past 20 years astatine the company, I retrieve archetypal stepping into crippled improvement done Soulcalibur IV," Ikeda wrote successful a connection posted connected Twitter. "Later, I was fixed the accidental to enactment connected the Tekken bid - a franchise that had a tremendous interaction connected my beingness and 1 that I had ever hoped to someday springiness backmost to. Being surrounded by passionate and incredibly talented mentors and colleagues, and dedicating ourselves wholeheartedly to crippled improvement together, remains 1 of the astir cherished experiences of my life.

"In particular, being entrusted with the relation of crippled manager for Tekken 7 and Tekken 8 gave maine the accidental to link with fans and members of the warring crippled assemblage (FGC) from each astir the world. Sharing excitement, celebrating together, and spending unforgettable moments with each of you became 1 of the top treasures of my life.

"While my relation starring the squad arsenic crippled manager is coming to a close, the values that some I personally and the Tekken Project person ever cherished staying adjacent to the fans and the assemblage and gathering the crippled unneurotic with everyone volition ne'er change," helium added. "I person entrusted those values, and that baton, to the unthinkable squad that volition proceed shaping the aboriginal of Tekken. As I look guardant to the aboriginal of Tekken and the FGC, I volition besides proceed taking connected caller challenges arsenic a crippled developer."

Sadly, dissimilar Harada, Ikeda hasn't enactment unneurotic a DJ premix to commemorate his departure. Then again, helium didn't bespeak he'd similar to DJ astatine a Tekken tourney similar Harada did, truthful the deficiency of funky beats is understandable. Back erstwhile Harada left, Bandai Namco person enactment retired a connection assuring players "that we are afloat committed to aboriginal improvement and contented plans for Tekken 8", arsenic good arsenic indicating the bid would inactive person a future.

Regardless, having a fig of high-profile departures successful a comparatively abbreviated span is apt to permission Tekken's adjacent introduction with questions to reply successful presumption of what that future'll look similar and however it mightiness disagree from what's travel before.

"When the last fist lands, I person recovered myself little excited by Tekken 8 than I expected. But overmuch of that dispassion comes solely from not having immoderate characters that I genuinely emotion and person contiguous familiarity with," Brendy (RPS successful peace) wrote successful his Tekken 8 review. I consciousness similar an outlier here. All the classical contenders are present, aft all, your Kings, your Pauls, your Kazuyas, your... Zafinas?

"Whatever. My constituent is: YOUR favourites are astir apt inactive here. And if they are, you'll beryllium contented to footwear and/or punch. There isn't thing revolutionary happening speech from the Heat metre and each that it entails. But a batch of the prime of beingness improvements and subtle plan tweaks stack up."

Whether Tekken 9's caller bosses bash instrumentality it successful much revolutionary directions is thing we'll person to see.