Tekken 8 Producer Discusses Return of Team Battle Mode

The Steam Deck is considered by many fans to be the king of PC gaming handhelds. While Valve is miles away from seriously challenging Nintendo’s market position, and their own device can’t run all games on Steam, it still endures as one of the most popular devices in the category. It may very well be the best seller out of all of them, thanks to a combination of its early market lead, its now global distribution network, and the ease of use with SteamOS compared to Windows.

Despite the controversy surrounding Tekken 8’s recent addition of the cash shop and Battle Pass, Bandai Namco’s sequel has done well. Before its launch, producer Katsuhiro Harada revealed that the series had sold over 55 million copies on the Game Maker’s Notebook Podcast.

In response to the high volume of requests for its inclusion, Tekken 8 director Katsuhiro Harada has made perhaps the inadvisable decision to ask fans why they want a Waffle House level added to the game. For the uninitiated or the international, Waffle House is an American restaurant chain, with most of the company's 1,900 US stores located in the midwest and south of the country.

Bandai Namco's latest Tekken 8 update has stirred up a storm with the introduction of Eddy Gordo, game fixes, and a highly controversial battle pass. This new feature, now part of the $70-priced Tekken 8alongside the season pass and microtransactions, has sparked significant backlash.

Fans are not happy with Tekken 8's upcoming battle pass system. During a recent Tekken Talk Livestream, Tekken 8 developers confirmed that a battle pass will be coming to the game. Like other battle passes, the new pass, called the Tekken Fight Pass, will allow players to obtain items by completing a variety of challenges during a limited period of time.

In response to a wave of fans lobbying for a Waffle House-themed stage in Tekken 8, the game's director Katsuhiro Harada finally broke the silence and addressed the high demand for this unique stage.

Tekken 8 is getting a change to its storefront, introducing a new "fight pass" feature. This works the same as a battle pass in other games, with a premium tier charging players an extra fee for exclusive, more sought-after items.

Tekken 8 players have been expressing their frustration at the addition of a new Tekken Fight Pass feature.

Waffle House is one of those uniquely American institutions-turned-meme. The 24/7 chain is not only a place where you can order a breakfast combo at 3AM, but where unruly customers have been known to show up ready to throw hands (and sometimes chairs). Given its notoriety for late-night brawls, it’s exactly the type of setting that would make for a perfect backdrop in a fighting game like Tekken 8 — and apparently, fans have been inquiring. Longtime Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada posted on X this weekend asking what the deal is with all the Waffle House requests.

Tekken 8's director and producer, Katsuhiro Harada, has stated that Tekken 9 would likely be the last game he would ever develop. Tekken 8 has been a huge success already, with the game selling at least two million copies since its late-January launch and is one of the most critically acclaimed entries in the long-running fighting game franchise. While the game is still fresh, some might wonder if Tekken 8 will get a follow-up.

Tekken 8's director, Katsuhiro Harada, has addressed the many fan requests regarding a stage based on Waffle House. The Tekken franchise has a roster that spans many countries and cultures from across the globe. Not only does Tekken 8 have a diverse multicultural cast, its stages are set in different parts of the world, such as Rome, France, Peru, and the United States of America. One particular backdrop that is a popular request for fans is a Tekken 8 stage based on Waffle House.

Tekken 8 attracted a fair bit of backlash when Bandai Namco added microtransactions to the game earlier this month. Now, in a move that’s likely to spark more ire, the company has revealed that it’s adding further monetization options to the game.