Tekken 8 is one of the most interesting and loved fighting games released in recent years. However, as time passes, due to the capabilities of online patching and releasing of content, it has been criticized since Season 2. Now that Season 3 has dropped, players and fans are even angrier at it.
What happened with Season 3?
It started with Season 2, and now that Season 3 is here, what players thought would be a fix to the game’s balance problems has only become worse. The game is being review-bombed left and right on multiple gaming websites and platforms. This is the fans’ response to how the devs are lazy. It’s also worth noting that long-time series director Katsuhiro Harada has left the team even before Season 3 was released.
What debacle happened in Season 2?
Season 2 of Tekken 8 was meant to expand the game with new content, balance changes, and improvements. However, many players in the community have raised concerns about how these updates have affected gameplay, balance, and overall experience. While the game remains popular, Season 2 has been criticized for introducing new frustrations rather than refining the core system.
One of the biggest complaints revolves around character balance. Fighting games rely heavily on fairness, and Season 2 has been criticized for making certain fighters significantly stronger than others. Some characters received buffs that made them dominate both casual and competitive play, while others were left weaker or even unintentionally nerfed.
Balance issues plagued the online ranking matches and pro-scene
Naturally, when you have professional Tekken 8 players chiming in, you know there’s an issue. Season 2 brought about a frustrating imbalance to the game. This resulted in some players just picking the same character over and over again, since they were arguably buffed or stronger than most characters.
People who also played online experienced the frustration. The heat system also plays into this, because even before Tekken 8, not a lot of people are fond of this. It kind of removes the realism of Tekken compared to other fighting games, because the heat system is like a special move system akin to that of the Marvel vs. Capcom games.
However, in fairness, if you do love playing the game for what it is, then balancing issues shouldn’t be a problem. Play with your friends for fun, and these things wouldn’t matter much. It does matter to some people, and they can impact the game.
Why did Harada leave Tekken?
Harada left at the end of 2025. Not only did he leave Tekken, but Namco Bandai (Tekken’s publisher) altogether. He claimed that the parting was mutual, and he wanted to move on to other things, as he has been in the video game industry since the 90s. He is ready to dive into other projects not related to Tekken. If you’re a fan of him, be sure to wait and see where he might pop out next, and it doesn’t even have to be a fighting game.
