Tekken 7 saw one of its best international players, Knee, claim his first North American Evo title at Evo 2022, and with that, Bandai Namco laid out a plan for the future of the game and what comes next… sort of.
After a little bit of baiting with the wording in the trailer, the post-Top 8 reveal for Tekken 7 confirmed another year of Tekken World Tour competitive action—culminating in a Global Finals in Amsterdam from Feb. 4 to 5, 2023.
Along with that news, Bandai will be releasing a new battle update for the game on Aug. 17, which will include balance adjustments for the roster and new tactics that will give characters more to work with. From what the trailer showed, some additional combo strings and moves seem to be the focus, which could lead to unique interactions only available after this patch.
More details will be shared about that update ahead of its launch, but most fans thought that some of the wording was pointing to a reveal of Tekken 8.
Fans hoping to see the next iteration of the Tekken franchise wouldn’t leave entirely empty-handed: a short teaser at the end of the trailer showcased a transition from the classic scene from the original Tekken with Kazuya dropping Heihachi off the cliff and grinning at the camera. However, instead of just lingering on the heavily memed image of Kazuya’s face, it transitioned into a much clearner, modern-looking character model with simple text telling fans to “Get Ready.”
This in and of itself wasn’t enough to clear up some confusion around the messaging, but Evo general manager TheHadou confirmed it was a new Tekken project being teased and not just another clip hyping up the series in general.
It is unlikely we will hear more news about whatever this next Tekken project is going to be for some time, but considering Tekken 7 has sold over 9 million copies and has such a dedicated hardcore fan base, when the news does drop, you can likely expect a celebration much like how Tasty Steve and the other commentators were freaking out right alongside Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada once the trailer ended.
