Tekken 8 to feature crossplay for first time in series confirms game director

Tekken 8 Game Director Katsuhiro Harada says the new entry will feature crossplay functionality for the first time in franchise history.

To the delight of fighting game fans, Bandai Namco unleashed a teaser for Tekken 8 during Evo 2022. Details have been shared piecemeal in the many months since then, but the hype has yet to slow down.

As of writing, the full list of playable characters remains under wraps. But prospective players can look forward to the return of favorites such as Marshall Law, Kazuya, and Jun Kazama.

In addition to learning more about the gameplay and character roster, Tekken faithful also have high hopes for new features. News from series producer Katsuhiro Harada recently lifted quite a few spirits in this regard.

Harada confirms crossplay functionality is coming to Tekken 8

Game Director Katsuhiro Harada responded to a tweet over the weekend asking if crossplay would feature in the new Tekken installment. The legendary developer told fans that crossplay is indeed on the cards.

“Crossplay? Of course…” he wrote, before noting that he previously proposed cross-platform play at the start of the eighth-console generation. Apparently, they (presumably Sony and Microsoft) were at odds and wouldn’t budge on the matter.

Harada then noted that even after platform holders began opening up to crossplay, “they didn’t actively support third parties at the time, and the hurdles were actually quite high.”

Crossplay? Of course I will.BTWWhen the previous generation consoles were released, I had already proposed crossplay between the two platformers. However, at that time, they were at odds with each other over their mutual interests (and P2P security issue) & repeatedly refused. https://t.co/I8b38YfePh

— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) April 9, 2023

Remember when they announced they were open to crossplay a few years ago? But in reality, they didn't actively support third parties at the time, and the hurdles were actually quite high.There are still some problems left, but it will be possible. https://t.co/8riL6p2lbf

— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) April 9, 2023

A couple of years ago, court documents from the Epic v Apple lawsuit claimed Sony was the biggest hurdle to overcome when pushing for crossplay in Fortnite across all platforms.

Allegedly, Sony counted as the only platform holder that charged developers for implementing cross-platform play. It’s unclear if this constitutes one of the “problems” Harada references in his recent tweets.

Concrete details about how crossplay will work in Tekken 8 should surface once its release, which is currently unspecified, begins to draw near.