Kohei ‘Nakatsu’ Ikeda, who served as the game director on both Tekken 8 and 7, has announced his departure from Bandai Namco after 20 years with the company. His exit, though not right behind, comes shortly after executive Game Director and Chief Producter on Tekken, Katsuhiro Harada, made his exit from the company in December of last year to form a new studio.
Ikeda took to social media, posting a farewell message to fans. In it, he stated:
There were joyful moments, and many difficult ones as well. There were times when we celebrated together, and times when I received passionate criticism and encouragement. Yet every one of those moments helped push both myself and the Tekken Project forward.
During this message, Ikeda did not suggest what is next for him now that he has left. Fan speculation, however, given how close this move is to Harada’s own departure after 30 years with Bandai Namco, has many suspecting that the two plan to rejoin at VS Studio, Harada’s new studio, which is partnered with SNK Corporation, best known for the King of Fighters series
This has left Tekken fans in a bit of a weird place, wondering where the long-running fighting series goes from here. A week before this, Bandai Namco announced Yujiro Hanma from the Baki manga and anime would be joining Tekken 8 as a guest fighter, which was positively received by fans. He is set to arrive sometime in 2027 with the end of Tekken 8 Season Pass 3.
Now with two of the driving names behind the series gone, possibly developing their own fighting game somewhere else, where does this leave the franchise? The biggest burning question is probably whether we see a Tekken 9, and if so, in which state do we see it? Tekken 8 itself has had a rocky road to this point, with both the Season 2 and Season 3 updates being met with backlash by fans, particularly balance changes and a shift to more aggressive gameplay that isolated defensive strategy players.
During these issues, it was Harada himself who stepped in, attempting to create a bridge of communication between the development team and the fans. With his departure, sentiment for a lot of people was that Ikeda would be the most likely candidate to fill that space, though clearly that is no longer on the cards. If nothing else, the Tekken team will most likely undergo a major restructuring, but where that will leave the franchise remains to be seen.
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