Tekken 7 has been out for a long time due to its success in esports and online communities. Initially released in 2015, this game has been out for quite some time now. Mortal Kombat 10 was released that same year, and there has already been a sequel released.
The following question was asked by a player named Gen during an episode of Harada's Bar:
"What is the future of the series?"
Many fans have been asking for a sequel, especially since PS5 consoles are becoming more readily available.
Tekken 7 may be on its last leg but don't count on it
In the context of his current project, Katsuhiro Harada laughs when discussing new ideas and characters. Although he isn't able to answer that particular question, he does provide an ambiguous quote instead.
"I can't answer, but there is one thing I can say. Tekken 7 has gone on long enough," Harada responded.
It sounds like a sequel will follow the game. However, some websites dispute this, providing their own reasoning. They cite the interview's outcome as the reason for their skepticism.
According to Harada, the original plan for Tekken 7 was only to feature two seasons of content. Then, things supposedly changed, and a sequel might have come, but sales increased instead, and the sequel never came. Even so, they kept asking the company for more when sales kept going well. Harada went on to say:
"Well, this has been going on for a very long time… It's really profitable even after the second year. Considering the development cost, the profit is massive. We recovered all of that development cost in the first two months of sales."
Tekken 7 doesn't seem like it will end, given the rest of the interview
It is much simpler and cheaper to create characters in a game system already in place rather than by making a brand new game. Many other fighting game developers have moved in during this last console generation.
It's unclear whether Bandai Namco has been asked to develop a Season 5 for Tekken 7.
"If I asked the president if I can make the next one, he definitely couldn't say 'no' to me,"
The way Harada says this, it seems that he would bring it about if they wanted it. Harada believes we should see international offline events as soon as the end of 2021, and next year will be like it was before. It's not over yet for the current Tekken game, though. A new balance patch is due out any day now, and the Tekken Online Challenge will return next month. So we really don't understand what Harada means by "Tekken 7 has gone on long enough."