Tekken 8 enters its 3rd year of existence in quite a precarious spot. What could be considered the second most popular fighting game saw system changes that were introduced in its 2nd season have been derided by the competitive player base. It got so bad that the community even turned their ire on prominent members of the team such as producer and Katsuhiro Harada’s translator Michael Murray. Speaking of Katushiro Harada, the long face of the franchise announced his departure from the company at the end of 2025. Not exactly the best way to close out the franchise’s 30th year.
However you can always put a new foot forward in the new year and that’s what Tekken is trying to do at the Tekken World Tour Finals 2025 which took place this past weekend Malmö, Sweden in which the now retired Harada made a guest appearance to share one more trailer with the crowd and thus revealing season 3 of Tekken 8.
The 3rd season promises to address the complaints of season 2 and will bring forth a reset of online rankings as sort of a fresh start. In addition to game balance changes, the single will add 4 combatants to the roster as well as one brand new stage. The first fighter to be released will be Kunimitsu, the kunoichi who offers her skills to the highest bidder. She is set to arrive late spring 2026. The second fighter who was announced with a hilarious and oddly on point burger drop is Bob. The freestyle karate practitioner who opted GAIN weight in order to enhance his fighting prowess returns and appears to have an onigiri sponsorship. Bob is set to show the world that “Speed and weight” aren’t polar opposites when he returns this summer. The 3rd character revealed involved a bit of a misdirect, this round of trailers kicks off with a “hails from” title card and when Australia was brought up, many believed that Vale Tudo fighter Craig Marduk would be coming back, instead it was the Kangaroo combatant, Roger Jr. I love trolling folks as much as the next person, but having the player base pay for a gag character is a bit much. But if you are a roo’ main, then your character is back this fall. The fourth character which is likely a brand new character will likely be revealed closer to their release in the Winter.
Will the Tekken team be able to “restore the feeling” with these latest rounds of changes? Personally I hope so, as a healthy FGC should have more than a handful of viable titles. As far as season 3 is concerned, players can pre-order the season pass starting on February 10th. Buying the pass will offer early access to upcoming characters and bonus DLC content.
Tekken 8 is available now on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.
TEKKEN 8 – Season 3 Trailer
