Tekken 8 held their first “Tekken Talk” where Chief Director of the Tekken Project, Katsuhiro Harada, Game Director Kohei “Nakatsu” Ikeda, translator and Producer Michael Murray, and Marketing Producer Yasuda Esports, sit down to talk about the state of the game, any future updates they are willing to share, and what is planned in updates.
To start it off, they announced that there will be a second update, which is planned for release in late Feb or early March, along with balance updates to be released the day prior. Unfortunately, Eddy Gordo, the first announced DLC character does not have a confirmed release date but will be announced when it is confirmed.
Cosmetic and Merchandise Updates:
The new update will feature an in-game collaboration feature which was announced at the Tekken World Tour finals. They will be doing an in-game collaboration with the clothing company UNIQLO. However, fans who want the t-shirts will be able to purchase them through UNIQLO’s stores and release dates for the products will vary by region, but in the United States, it is already up for purchase on UNIQLO’s website.
There are also other forms of clothing for fans to purchase such as tie-dyes, figurines, posters, and more.
Otherwise, players can show off their shirts in-game by claiming one shirt for their Tekken 8 avatar and two shirts for characters for free.
The Tekken Shop is also a new in-game feature that will provide a variety of customization items for purchase, which will include legacy character costumes and character-themed avatar skins. New items will be added once or twice a month. Unfortunately, these items will require actual currency, which may displease some players who do not like the addition of micro transactions. The skins will start at roughly $3.99. However, there will be some items that are free as well.
The developers announced that there will be a Tekken 8 Original Soundtrack CD released for pre-order, that comes with a booklet of the producers and what the goal was for the soundtrack, and how it sounds. Pre-orders will go until March 13, 2024. In addition to a physical CD, the Tekken Series Original Soundtrack streaming will start on February 26, with games such as Tekken Tag 2 and Tekken Revolution.
Esport and Online Updates:
As usual, there will be character bug fixes, issues with the game’s performance. The changes and update details release a day before the actual update begins.
On the Esports side of Tekken, the Tekken World Tour will be starting on April 13, 2024. Which will feature Master+, Master, Challenger, and Dojo events. In a way, these tiers are the difficulty of a tournament, for example, EVO Japan 2024, will be considered a Master+ event, so the highest placement With Last Chance Qualifiers and Global Finals to be announced. These rankings will run off global leaderboards. For more information, fans can visit the Tekken World Tour website at TEKKENWORLDTOUR.COM
For people who play online often, they may have run into a “plugger” which is someone who intentionally leaves the match. Keep in mind that Tekken 8 does not have a “quit” option when in an online match. And because the match never concluded, it was as if it never happened, meaning that the player could not report the opponent for leaving. They are looking to ban players but there are also legal matters to consider.
The Future Plans:
As mentioned before, Eddy Gordo did not have a confirmed release date but the Tekken Talk showed footage of Eddy in the main menu, character select screen, and even gameplay. Armed with a new capoeira style, a new look, and the overall style of Tekken, fans can look forward to playing him in the future.
The overall Tekken Talk features many ideas and quality of life changes such as more story content, ghost battles, practice mode lobbies, and more. Though nothing is confirmed, fans can breathe a little easier knowing the developers are actively listening to community feedback.
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