As Katsuhiro Harada says goodbye to Tekken, Bandai promises 'more fights, more updates' in 2026

It's an end of an era at Bandai Namco as Tekken series veteran Katsuhiro Harada officially says goodbye to the franchise, however the publisher still promises new content for Tekken 8 and beyond.

2

It's official: After three decades of delivering iconic fighting games, legendary creator Katsuhiro Harada is done with the Tekken franchise. Under Harada's leadership, the series has amassed over 61 million sales across a multitude of platforms and releases. Harada shared a somber message on Twitter, saying: "I'm no longer a developer / creator of the TEKKEN series. Harada_TEKKEN is completely dead."

The show must go on, however; Tekken is just too big of a series to lay dormant at Bandai Namco, especially now that Tekken 8 has been turned into a kind of live service hybrid with its in-game storefront. For its part, the Tekken social team shared a bit of optimism, saying that fans can expect "more fights and more updates" throughout 2026.

• Read more: Katsuhiro Harada leaving Bandai Namco and Tekken franchise

As for Harada's replacement, his role will be succeeded by a joint two-person team consisting of Kohei Ikeda, who directed Tekken 8, and Michael Murray, who will serve in a more production-driven role.

It's unclear whether or not Bandai Namco will announce a new mainline Tekken game in 2026, or maybe even another Tekken Tag-style spin-off, but given the high costs of games development these days, it seems more likely that fans will receive more Tekken 8 content in the form of season passes.

Harada may not be out of the limelight just yet, and fans have noted that it's possible that he could show up at the upcoming Tekken World Tour championships, which kicks off Jan 29 - Feb 1, 2026.