Tekken’s face goes away
Katsuhiro Harada announced the news on his own social media, stating that the time was right to leave. He talks about seeing many of his friends retire, while some have sadly passed away (Tomonobu Itagaki comes to mind), leaving him to ponder what he should do with the rest of his life and career:
“ In recent years, I have experienced the loss of several close friends in my personal life, and in my professional life, I have witnessed the retirement or death of many experienced colleagues whom I deeply respect. These accumulated events led me to reflect on “how much time I have left as a creator.” During this time, I sought the advice of Ken Kutaragi — whom I respect as if he were another father — and received invaluable encouragement and advice. His words discreetly supported me in this decision. »
He specifies that this departure will be done smoothly since he gradually bequeathed his responsibilities to other people :
“ Over the last four or five years, I’ve gradually delegated all of my responsibilities, as well as the stories and universe creation I was overseeing, to the team, which brings me to today. Looking back, I’ve had the chance to work on an extraordinary variety of projects: VR titles (like Summer Lesson), Pokkén Tournament, the SoulCalibur series and many others, and others outside the company. »
He will make his last public appearance with Bandai Namco during the Tekken World Tour 2025 Global Finals from January 31 to February 1, but his departure will still be recorded at the end of this year. The team in charge of Tekken 8 published another message immediately to try to reassure the community:
“ To our fans, rest assured that development of future Tekken 8 content continues. We will continue our efforts by taking into account your feedback on the game to ensure we respect Harada-san’s vision, dedicating all our efforts to ensuring the legacy of the Tekken series so that it continues to be one of the most beloved fighting game series in the world. We extend our greatest gratitude to Harada-san for delivering his vision and ensuring the success of the series over the years. »
Still, this is a big upheaval for the series, at a time when Tekken 8 is not necessarily in the odor of holiness. We also expect Bandai Namco to soon reveal the game’s third Season Pass, since the second has just concluded with the arrival of Miary Zo.