Seemingly out of nowhere, topical Tekken 8 director and longtime leader of the franchise Katsuhiro Harada announced his departure from Bandai Namco at the end of 2025. It is a surprising move for Harada, who has always been closely associated with Tekken franchise he has helped operate over the past 30 years. He also often serves as the face of games such as Tekken 8 by announcing new content at various events alongside fellow producer, Michael Murray.
The news comes at a surprising time, as not only is it the franchise's 30th anniversary, but Tekken 8 has been a huge success for Bandai Namco, even with the difficulties the studio had to overcome in Season 2. Many fans are expecting news about a new season of content, and even Harada himself has previously admitted that a Tekken 9 would probably be his last match before retiring. As it stands now, plans have seemingly changed Tekken franchise will chart new territory without Harada.
Tekken 8 Director Gives Update on Fan Request Waffle House Stage
Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada shares a surprising update about the possibility of combining the worlds of Tekken 8 and Waffle House.
Katsuhiro Harada leaves Bandai Namco
In a lengthy post on social media, Katsuhiro Harada admitted that, as Tekken reached his 30th anniversary, he felt it was an appropriate moment to finally “close a chapter.” Speaking about his roots in the gaming industry, including interacting with people directly at local tournaments and arcades, he admitted that recent events have changed his perspective a bit on how much time he has left as a creator. It's clear that Tomonobu Itagaki's recent passing had a profound impact on Harada, who made a heartfelt statement following the news and delivered a eulogy at his memorial service. To end his post, for the “first and last time” and as a nostalgic way to celebrate Tekken series, Harada released a 60-minute DJ mix of the franchise, edited by himself.
Internally, the news is likely not as shocking as Harada confirmed that he has been gradually handing over many of his responsibilities over the past 5 years. Nevertheless, Bandai Namco, like the current one Tekken 8 team, followed up Harada's post with one of his own to thank him for all he has done and confirmed that although he will be leaving at the end of Tekkens 30th anniversary, he will make an appearance in early 2026 during the Tekken World Tour 2025 Global Finals on January 30 and February 1, 2026 in Malmö, Sweden.
In addition, the company also addressed the future of Tekken series, which seeks to ease fans' concerns by confirming the studio's commitment to the franchise, future development and content plans for Tekken 8. In addition to player feedback, the studio plans to honor the legacy of the franchise, while ensuring it maintains the vision and spirit built by Harada.
For many, Harada is best remembered for being very active on social media, often engaging with fans on a variety of topics, from Tekken lore, update announcements, DLC requests, to sometimes having to put people in their place. Interestingly, Harada dealt with rumors of leaving Bandai Namco earlier in 2025, denying them at the time, though looking back now it seems the rumors were at least somewhat justified.
While he is perhaps best known for his work on Tekken Harada has also held various roles and helped with many other projects at Bandai Namco. His farewell post revealed a handful of them, as Harada noted that each offered him a sense of discovery and learning, giving him another “irreplaceable experience.” While working on other fighting game series such as Pokken tournament and SoulCaliburwas he also involved in Tales of Arise, Dark Souls 3, Code Veinand the unique Pac-Man spinoff known as Shadow maze.
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January 26, 2024
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