Tekken has had a storied history since its debut on the original PlayStation, but Tekken 7 is undoubtedly one of the generation's best fighters.
Offering a sizeable roster, bolstered by three (soon to be four) seasons of additional content and fighters, as well as a deep yet accessible fighting system, Tekken 7 is the kind of game that looks set to keep on growing.
Still, with a new console generation, what of the series' inevitable eighth instalment? With over three million sales of Tekken 7 alone, Bandai Namco would be mad not to continue the series.
Tekken 8: Everything We Know
Latest News
Tekken Announcement Coming On 26 September
According to Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada, there's going to be some new content announced during this weekend's US East Online Challenge event.
It'll be for Tekken 7's fourth season of content, though.
I'll show you something.
— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) September 24, 2020
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US East Open Tournament this Saturday at 12PM PT we'll also have a special announcement.
Harada & Michael will be revealing details of Season 4 at 6PM PT!
Be sure to tune it at https://t.co/6R9vWWbQ3e
you won't want to miss it!#T7OnlineChallenge
Release Date
Ok, so we're jumping the gun somewhat here since we've still not got all of the characters for Tekken 7, but it seems fairly certain that whatever comes next will be on next-gen systems.
With that in mind, expect to see more after the fourth season pass concludes.
The development team has traditionally taken a fair bit of time between each mainline release, with six years between the sixth and seventh instalments (albeit with Tag Tournament 2 sandwiched in the middle).
There's also the possibility of Tekken 7 assets being repurposed to allow for a next-gen title, something we've seen before when Tekken Tag Tournament launched on PS2. Could the next game be Tag Tournament 3?
Characters
Tekken 7 has expanded its roster with an impressive cadence of new fighters, both taken from the series' history and from elsewhere.
We've received the likes of Armor King, Ganryu, Lei Wulong and Zafina, and it looks as though Kunimitsu could be the next addition.
Meanwhile, there have been plenty of new characters, including Muay Thai giant Fahkumram, the sassy Katarina, and Leroy Smith, a wing chun master.
Perhaps most excitingly are the characters pulled from other games and universes, like Akuma from Street Fighter, Geese Howard from the King of Fighters Franchise, Noctis from Final Fantasy XV and even Negan from The Walking Dead!
Will Tekken 8 be similarly experimental?
Platforms
After years of being found exclusively on PlayStation systems, recent Tekken titles have made the jump to PC and Xbox, too.
While there's always the possibility that Sony will look to lock the franchise in again, we'd expect whatever the next instalment is to appear on PS5, Xbox Series S and X, and PC.
Of course, we could even get Tekken 7 ported over to either console, which would be great!
The series has also traditionally offered an arcade release, but with the current global pandemic, that may have to wait.
