Tekken 8 Character Leak Causes Chaos for Harada

The reveal of the newest character in Tekken 8, Bryan Fury, wasn't intended to happen so soon, much to the disappointment of series director Katsuhiro Harada. Tekken 8 was officially announced during a PlayStation State of Play event in September of last year, with a teaser at EVO 2022. Publisher Bandai Namco has promised that Tekken 8 will be more aggressive than previous entries, due to the inclusion of new Heat and Rage gameplay mechanics. The game has also been slowly announcing the return of fan-favorite characters, some of which haven't been seen in over a decade. The latest character reveal was Bryan Fury, a resurrected police detective seeking revenge, whose inclusion in Tekken 8 was leaked ahead of schedule, much to Harada's dismay.

Katsuhiro Harada, the director of Tekken 8, expressed frustration in a now-deleted tweet regarding a recent character leak, placing blame on Bandai Namco’s European division. Harada had previously warned against the use of a timer in posting. Following this, Tekken 8 producer Michael Murray apologized to Harada, the development team, and the fanbase for the oversight. While this is not the first time Harada and Murray have expressed dissatisfaction with Tekken 8’s development, they remain optimistic that the game’s graphics and lightning will improve before its planned launch later this year. The duo also discussed the challenges of selecting which fighters from Tekken’s extensive roster would make a return in the new game.

Bryan Fury's return to Tekken 8 has been officially confirmed by Bandai Namco, much to the excitement of fans. However, his initial reveal caused some backlash due to the leak of his presence before Bandai Namco was ready to unveil him. The undead cop-turned-remorseless killer is sure to make an impact in the upcoming game, which is currently in development for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: VGC