Tekken 8 Possibly Teased By Bandai Namco At EVO 2022

Publisher Bandai Namco has teased its first Tekken content update since 2021, introducing a new character, Lidia Sobieska, and the Island Paradise battle stage. As part of the EVO 2022 line-up, the publisher also gave audiences a glimpse into a future Tekken game, prompting much response from the Tekken and fighting game communities.

Before the reveal, the game was listed as "speculative games" in the famed NVIDIA leak from September 2021. However, since the teaser was revealed, Bandai Namco has not officially confirmed whether the upcoming Tekken game will be a remake or a sequel.

Bandai Namco "Gets Ready" For Possible New Tekken Game

Attendees at this year's Evolution Championship Series (EVO) 2022 were treated to a surprise reveal by publisher Bandai Namco on 7th August 2022. During the fighting game tournament, the publisher unveiled brief footage, highlighted by Tekken's long-time character, Kazuya Mishima, alluding to a possible Tekken game in the works.

It's been more than five years since Tekken's multi-platform release, which had a limited arcade run for two years. Established as one of the cornerstone franchises within the fighting game community (FGC) since its release in 1994, the announcement of a new Tekken game in development is promising.

The teaser accompanied an announcement trailer of the return of the Tekken World Tour, with the Grand Finals taking place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in February 2023 and new battle updates for Tekken 7. During the trailer, the teaser starts with Kazuya Mishima dropping his father, Heihachi Mishima, off a cliff.

The video pans closer to Kazuya's face before smiling, which then cuts to the now-aged fighter, with a glowing red eye, a scar below it, and his infamous smirk. The video concludes with the voiceover narrator exclaiming, "Get Ready!" as the video fades to black.

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Since the video's upload across multiple online and social media platforms, it has garnered over 39,000 views on YouTube and over 132,800 views on Twitter. Fans of the iconic fighting game series mostly speculated it to be a Tekken 1 Remake; however, one fan theorized that it could potentially be Tekken 8 coming soon.

"Kazuya is looking post-Tekken 2 hence the scars and red eye. He's also looking a little grey in some areas. Hopefully, it's Tekken 8."

Many were quick to comment that it's possibly lighting and not Kazuya looked aged; both arguments for either a Tekken 1 Remake or a new Tekken game are valid. However, with Bandai Namco announcing the Grand Finals of the Tekken World Tour taking place on 4th-5th February 2023, we may expect an official game announcement on the final day of the competition.

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Featured image courtesy of YouTube / Bandai Namco Esports.