Tekken 8 would have been released this year if Capcom had not chosen to release its flagship beat-em-up title Street Fighter 6 on the same day as the former’s initial launch, Tekken 8 Director Katsuhiro Harada hinted.
In a presentation on his online show “Harada’s Bar,” Harada brought with him two prominent figures from the fighting game community where he discussed and disclosed insider info on the industry. None other than fighting game legend Tokido and Gamers8 champion Kakeru.
At around the latter part of the interview, Harada gave Tokido the chance to ask him a pertinent question, prompting the latter to ask him about his current project. But before answering the question, Harada pivoted the discussion to the topic of Tekken 8’s anticipated release date and an undisclosed title.
With the affirmation that it will be released on January 26, 2024, Harada revealed that the aforementioned launch date was a result of it getting “delayed half a year”. That is, in connection to the said unnamed title, which also happens to be slated for release on the same day as Namco Bandai’s own flagship.
Hinting that the said game is of the same genre as Tekken 8, it’s quite apparent that he was pointing to Street Fighter 6. The game of which saw an official release earlier this year.
Although the decision ultimately led to the push away from its initial release window, Harada said the choice also came because of the need to polish the game further. Even in the context of directly going toe to toe with their rival, which would entail fueling the game’s marketing, the director said it poses no benefit for both companies to release their games on the same day.
