Tekken 8 Is Built From The Ground Up In UE5, Is A “Turning Point” For The Series

Tekken 8 was announced at PlayStation’s September State of Play, and now director Katsuhiro Harada has revealed even more info about what we can expect from the fighting game sequel.

Aside from more exciting father versus son showdowns, Tekken 8 is built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, Harada said in a new IGN interview. None of Tekken 7 has been re-used, and Harada was excited to describe the impressive in-game footage.

“This is actually the first time that we’re taking rain and outside effects and having that effect of rolling down the character models. And not just that,” Harada said. “But when they fall down on the ground, their clothing gets dirty as a result. So you can see the kind of results of the battle on the character models.”

As for the story, Harada called Tekken 8 a turning point and promised that the story mode hasn’t been shrunk from what players saw from Tekken 7. “Tekken’s story has always been about the Mishimas and their blood feud, and Tekken 7 showcased Heihachi Mishima and Kazuya and the showdown that took place there. And that finished with that installment,” Harada said. “So now we’re showing everyone a pinnacle of the story from the start of the campaign, but this is showing the remaining Mishimas, the two of them, the only ones left, and then you’ve got Jin Kazama and what he’s trying to achieve.”

Harada did not answer when asked if Tekken 8 will include Rage Arts as seen in Tekken 7, though he did comment on the unpopularity of the Rage system and Rage Arts when the features were first implemented. It’s unknown if Tekken 8 will include Rage Arts or how the system will be modified.

Looking toward the future, Harada expressed optimism about the longevity of fighting games. “Some of the younger players now have this impression, although inaccurate, that the fighting game audience has shrunk because there are fewer titles, but that’s not necessarily the case,” he said. “There may be less mid-sized titles coming out, but big fighting game IPs and indie fighting games are still going strong.”

Harada also said he was interested in how the fighting game scene will shift, commenting on the transition from arcade to console, and now what could possibly happen in the future. “I’m quite interested in what’s going to happen with [Riot Games’] Project L. Maybe there’s another shift in the fighting game business model,” Harada said. “I don’t think they’ve said yet, but they typically do free-to-play titles.”

Tekken 8 will be coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam sometime in the future.