Fighting game fans have had a lot to look forward to this year, with the releases of Street Fighter 6 in July and Mortal Kombat 1 in September the fighting game community has already had some heavy hitters bring their A game to center stage, and now Bandai Namco’s iconic Tekken series is looking to enter this amazing period of fighting games with their upcoming Tekken 8 release on January 26th, 2024. But for many players they won’t have to wait that long to enter The King of the Iron Fist Tournament, as Bandai Namco announced Tekken 8’s closed beta for October 20th through October 23rd, with closed beta registration still open for those interested so be sure to sign up here.
Bandai Namco themselves have introduced some great upcoming features for the closed beta, including a moveset guide for new characters not seen in the last beta: Feng Wei, Raven, and newcomer Azucena. Also included is the rather revolutionary “Ghost Battle” system, which will allow you to train against AI recreations of players in battle, including your friends, Tekken developers, and even professional Tekken players. A first for a fighting game, and honestly a jaw-dropping feature for anyone interested in getting better at the game.
Though on a non-official note, it seems some features from the beta have leaked early. One of which is the selection of pre-made costumes available to characters in the beta. These costumes look fantastic, with some standouts being Marshall Law’s casual Bruce Lee-inspired orange sunglasses fit and the return of Bryan Fury’s Tekken 7 default.
Even bigger than that, however, some screenshots of a new beat-em-up style game mode have been circulating. Tekken is no stranger to experimenting with new concepts for non-fighting game modes, Tekken 3’s Tekken Force and Tekken Bowling were always popular, and Tekken 5 and 6 featured more adventure-style single-player campaigns, which the screenshots seem to take inspiration from.
With all things considered, it seems that Tekken 8 will easily round out the trinity of Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 with features to please both the hardcore as well as the casual fans. And if you want an early preview of the Tekken experience, be sure to sign up for the closed beta for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. Sign-ups end tomorrow, so don’t delay! Make sure to sign up for it here. And if you’re unable to get in, don’t worry, Tekken 8 is set to release on January 26th, 2024 for those same platforms.