We’re still reeling from the Tekken 8 trailer that wowed virtually everyone with a visual presentation unlike anything the franchise (or perhaps fighting games in general) has ever seen before.
In an IGN interview, Bandai Namco Entertainment general manager Katsuhiro Harada sheds a little more light on Bandai Namco’s exciting new project, noting that the graphics and character models that have all our jaws on the floor weren’t improved-upon ports from Tekken 7, but rather built from the ground up.
Tekken 8 is being built with Unreal Engine 5, a game engine that’s only recently become available to use. Harada and his team actually began developing Tekken 8 on Unreal Engine 4 (which is what Tekken 7 was also built with) but were able to transition once the latest technology became available.
The jump between the two has been remarkable as the just under two minute trailer we saw earlier this week almost immediately blew fans out of the water. Every Tekken entry has proven unique, but there’s always quite a bit that carries over from one to the next. As pristine and beautiful as the character models in T7 are, however, developers are not actually using them at all for Tekken 8.
“[A]ll the models and everything from Tekken 7 have been totally discarded,” Harada tells IGN in their talk. Even some similar looking features and processes have been completely recreated for the upcoming Tekken 8.
Indeed, one of the most immediately memorable facets of the trailer showcase is the way the heavy rain interacts with Jin and Kazuya as they fight. Harada was quick to speak on this directly, noting that,
“Tekken 7 had something that appeared similar; that when the character fell down or during the battle, they would appear to be sweating or something. But that was just a parameter in the game in how it was displayed,” he starts.
“This is actually the first time that we’re taking rain and outside effects and having that effect of rolling down the characters models. And not just that, but when they fall down on the ground, their clothing gets dirty as a result. So you can see the kind of results of the battle on the character models.”
The new potential for details like rain droplets and sullied attire in this quite promising Unreal Engine 5 makes us all the more excited for what’s to come with Tekken 8.
There’s a ton more to the Harada interview as he discusses bits and pieces (where he can) of the game’s story direction, gaming mechanics, and other such topics, so be sure to check it out on IGN as soon as you can. Before you go, let us know in the comments below what stood out most to you in the T8 trailer as well as the questions you’re most hoping to see answered soon.
Tekken 8 does not yet have a release date, but is slated to release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.
