Highlights
- Four fan-favorite characters are confirmed to return for Tekken 8, increasing the roster count to 30 and satisfying player speculation.
- Tekken 8 continues the series tradition of introducing new characters for lore and representational purposes, while adding popular characters from previous games to its roster.
- The addition of Devil Jin, Zafina, Alisa, and Lee to Tekken 8's roster confirms leaks about the game's character lineup, showcasing their popularity within the community.
Bandai Namco has officially confirmed four fan-favorite Tekken characters to return for Tekken 8, swelling the game's roster count to 30 and confirming many players' speculations. The game developer added these characters in past games for various reasons but chose to retain them for Tekken 8 due to their popularity within the community.
The Tekken series is no stranger to having new characters added to its character roster, with Bandai Namco choosing to come up with various new characters for lore reasons and as a way to represent other countries. Tekken 8 is no different, with the game's roster before today already being a mix of old and new characters. The game's roster consists of series mainstays like Jin Kazama, Kazuya Mishima, and Ling Xiaoyu to newcomers to the series like Peru's Azucena Milagros. Despite having 28 characters, many series fans are still waiting for the confirmation of some characters from previous games.
As if to answer their questions, Bandai Namco recently revealed it is adding four fan-favorite characters to Tekken 8's roster, bringing the game's roster to 30 characters. According to the trailer IGN posted, these four new characters are Devil Jin, Zafina, Alisa Bosconovich, and Lee Chaolan. Devil Jin has been a series mainstay since Tekken 5, while Alisa and Zafina were introduced in Tekken 6 and have been present in the series ever since. Lee Chaolan, on the other hand, has been in the series since the original 1994 game. The trailer also featured a quick appearance of Panda, who Bandai Namco revealed to be in the game's roster in September.
Devil Jin, Zafina, Alisa, and Lee's addition to Tekken 8's character roster further confirm the credibility of the leaks about Tekken 8's character roster, though not perfectly. Players previously speculated that Devil Jin won't be added to the game's roster because Jin has been shown to have complete control of his Devil Gene, like his father, Kazuya. As a result, Jin's moveset now has certain moves allowing him to access some of the attacks and skills once exclusive to his Devil counterpart.
Regardless, Bandai Namco's addition of these characters to Tekken 8 shows their popularity within the Tekken community. However, it seems that popularity alone won't convince the game developer to add Heihachi Mishima to the game, with his death in Tekken 7 being permanent. Only time will tell if Bandai Namco will add the goofy yet powerful Mishima patriarch back to the game in some way.
Tekken 8
Bandai Namco's Tekken 8 will be the franchise's debut entry on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and the fighting game is built in Unreal Engine 5. The story revolves around Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama's relationship.
