Katsuhiro Harada, the face of Tekken and one of the most recognizable figures in the fighting game community, has announced his decision to leave Bandai Namco at the end of 2025.
In his lengthy statement on X, Harada said that the series’ 30th anniversary was the most fitting moment for him to step away, as he has spent the last four to five years gradually handing off his responsibilities to the rest of the Tekken team. He says he’ll share details on his next steps later, and thanks the players, colleagues, and everyone else who “walked alongside him for so many years.”
Harada’s departure marks the end of an era not only for the Tekken Project, but for Bandai Namco itself.
Harada was born in Osaka in 1970, studied psychology at Waseda University, and joined Namco as an arcade promoter in the early ‘90s. After breaking sales records, he transitioned into game development, where he was a part of the team that released the original Tekken on arcades and later on the original PlayStation.
After directing Tekken 3 and 4, he moved into a producer and executive position. Over three decades, he oversaw the development and releases of SoulCalibur, Pokkén, Ace Combat, Ni no Kuni, and even the Dark Souls series.
His most recent and final job at Bandai Namco was the executive producer role on Tekken 8.
Harada stresses that the Tekken team is already set up to continue without him. Over the last several years, Michael Murray has been the main producer on the franchise, handling everything related to the IP, while Kohei “Nakatsu” Ikeda is fully comfortable in his game designer role. Harada and Nakatsu even recorded an extensive dev log centered around the release of the latest Tekken 8 DLC character, Miary Zo.
It’s unclear if the Tekken Project developers will continue the same PR strategy that Harada loved: visiting various FGC events in person while dropping trailers and even participating in the tournaments.
In a postscript to his message, Harada notes that Bandai Namco has invited him to appear at the Tekken World Tour Finals in late January 2026 as a guest. This will be his first major public event after officially leaving the company.
In his farewell message, he also ticked off the final item on his Tekken bucket list, something he had meant to do all the time but never got around to finally do it. He recorded a full 60-minute nonstop DJ set on SoundCloud titled “TEKKEN: A 30-Year Journey – Harada’s Final Mix.”
And there truly is no better way to go than with such a mic drop.
Published: Dec 8, 2025 06:02 am