Tekken 8has rolled into its second year with confidence, having just completed its first DLC season and Tekken World Tour competitive series by the end of 2024. While sales will need to climb for a while to reach the heights ofTekken 7, the game is moving at a steady pace, releasing content intermittently while navigating fan responses. Not everything inTekken 8has gone smoothly, with the pricing and release structure of some DLC items stirring controversy, and many players are still sorting out their thoughts on the Heat System. Even so, prospects for 2025 are looking good.
For the time being,Tekken 8can afford to bide its time while calculating its next moves. Bandai Namco’s lone current-gen fighting game won’t have competition in the3D fighting space until the nextVirtua Fighteris ready, which could take another year. Work on the second DLC season and the next World Tour is happening behind the scenes, and the door is open to more modes and single-player content thanks to the extra story mode released. Despite how fast-pacedTekken 8’s Heat-oriented gameplay can feel, the game is in no rush, not even in an area thatTekken 7correctly covered early.
The State of Tekken 7 and 8’s Guest Fighters
As of the beginning of 2025,Tekken 8has a single guest character. Clive Rosfield, protagonist ofFinal Fantasy 16, joinedT8’s roster in December 2024, eliciting surprise, but general support after players saw more of him. Even thoughFinal Fantasy 7’s Tifa Lockhart had more outspoken supporters, Clive continues the pattern started withFF15’s Noctis being added toTekken 7, and requests for Tifa have at least been acknowledged. It wasn’t even a sure thing that guest characters were going to be part ofTekken 8’s first DLC season, so finally having that confirmed was also nice.
Tekken 7 Grabbed Guests Unusually Quickly
The approach to guests could only bemore different betweenTekken 7andTekken 8if Clive had been left until season 2. Guest characters were a big deal inTekken 7before the game even launched on consoles, asStreet Fighter’s Akuma was added in its Fated Retribution arcade update, and went on to star inT7’s story mode. Then,Tekken 7’s entire first year of DLC was made up ofFatal Fury’s Geese Howard andFinal Fantasy 15’s Noctis Lucis Caelum. Year 2 and its DLC season calmed things down with five returning veterans, but ended withThe Walking Dead’s Negan, shocking fans and onlookers alike.
Why Tekken 8 Is Handling Guests So Differently From Tekken 7
Tekken 7 and 8’s Priorities May Be Completely Different
Surprise and outsider attention seem to be exactly what Bandai Namco was counting on, as four guest fighters in consoleTekken 7’s first two years are considered one of the secrets of its success. That only makesTekken 8’s approach stand out more, as Clive became its first guest at the point whereTekken 7would have already had three. Few players doubt thatmore guest characters are coming toTekken 8in the future, but their pace slowing to a crawl after the opposite worked so well forT7is a strange course of action.
It’s possible that this will only apply toTekken 8’s first season in retrospect, as its initial three DLC characters — Eddy Gordo, Lidia Sobieska, and Heihachi Mishima — were all either essentialTekkenmainstays, fan favorites, or both. Meanwhile, Clive was probably meant to synergize withFinal Fantasy 16’s recent Steam release. This whole season was laid out far in advance with different priorities thanTekken 7’s DLC, possibly becauseT7revealed that a compelling-enough guest characterwill drive sales no matter when they’re released. Regardless of what Bandai Namco’s logic was,Tekken 8seems committed to not retreadingTekken 7’s steps, and time will tell if that strategy pays off.
