Tekken leader talks about the future of the franchise

Tekken‘s executive producer Katsuhiro Harada may only stick around for one more stint on the long-running fighting series, according to a recent statement from the veteran. Harada is attached to Tekken one way or another over the past few decades.

Since the first game came out in 1994, Tekken has consistently received favorable scores and has risen exponentially in popularity, becoming virtually synonymous with the fighting game genre. In total, Bandai Namco’s franchise has spawned eleven entries over the span of approximately 30 years. For much of that time, Harada was part of the proceedings of several Tekken titles, with his latest involvement in this year’s episode, Tekken 8. After working on the franchise for a long time, an update was recently shared about the Japanese game producer’s role in the future of the series.

In an interview with VG247, Harada said he and fellow producer Michael Murray “may only have one left Tekken” in them, due to factors such as growing older and “how that plays out in Japan and development.” As he reflects on the number of years he has under his belt working on Tekkenthe executive producer said that a new team may eventually take over, as most of the current developers have been there for decades. Harada acknowledged the possibility that the game would change after his departure, saying that the game could become “more casual” like the Smash Bros. games.

Underscoring the importance of a balance of power between the creative and business teams building the future Tekken Games revealed to Harada that he was “quite concerned” about the creative side of things losing out to the business aspect once veteran creators decide to step down. He said there should be members on the creative team who “know the game well and know what it should be.” The executive producer said that the people handling the finances are “naturally quite strong” and that there needs to be someone on the creative team “strong enough to be on the same kind of floor as those people.” He further added that it can be challenging to maintain this “delicate balance,” which he recognizes is necessary to ensure the company’s survival.

In addition to talking about the future of the series, Katsuhiro Harada also addressed the likely reasons for the long-lasting success of Tekken compared to other 3D fighting games of the time. He believed that the “three pillars,” including the creative side, the marketing side and the community side, have been critical to extending the life of the franchise. Even though the old developers are still at the helm, Harada’s statements suggest that fans should be ready for a possible change in direction for Tekken as new creatives take control over the years.