Previously on Tekken 8, the upcoming entry was teased very blatantly at EVO 2022 with an in-engine model of Kazuya Mishima, and then fully revealed the month after. Powered by Unreal 5, the game showcased a fight between Kazuya and series veteran Jin Kazama, all completely in-engine.
This brings us to earlier tonight, at The Game Awards 2022, where a brand-new trailer for Tekken 8, showcasing more gameplay, was revealed. More gameplay showcased several classic characters in-engine, including Paul, King, JACK, and more. You can watch the new trailer below.
Several of the characters appear to have various minor redesigns, while others (such as King) retain their Tekken 7 appearance in an almost one-to-one comparison. The game’s story cinematics that was shown all but confirm that Devil Jin will also be playable in some capacity (be it unlockable, DLC, or simply base game).
Something notable is that Jun Kazama was shown throughout the trailer, which hints that she may be playable as well, making it the first time she appears in a main-series entry since Tekken 2 back in 1995 (excluding spin-offs like the Tekken Tag Tournament series, where she appeared in both games). Comparatively, Jun is one of a few characters to appear in an early Tekken title and then be relegated to spin-offs later (others include Prototype Jack, Dr. Bosconovitch, and more).
How big (or small) the roster is will remain to be seen, but in the form of mechanics, Rage Arts may very well be back (think of them like Super Arts in Street Fighter, comparatively). We’ll continue to update Tekken 8 as more characters, mechanics, stages, and story content is released.
Tekken 8 is slated to launch sometime in the future on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. Pre-order information and DLC information is currently unavailable at this time. In other news, Street Fighter 6 pre-orders are now available, and a new trailer for the game was released during the ceremony.
