Tekken Development Chief Katsuhiro Harada Announces Bandai Namco Exit After 30 Years

Katsuhiro Harada has announced his departure from Bandai Namco having worked connected the Tekken bid for 30 years.

The 55-year-old Japanese video crippled developer legend, who worked connected each the Tekken games close up until past year’s Tekken 8, said successful a connection posted to societal media that the nonaccomplishment of adjacent friends successful his idiosyncratic beingness and the status oregon decease of elder colleagues had caused him to bespeak connected the clip helium has near arsenic a creator. Advice from Ken Kutaragi — the "father of PlayStation" — supported Harada successful making the decision, helium said. Harada failed to uncover what helium plans to bash next, but helium did not accidental helium was retiring.

Harada has had a somewhat frought narration with the Tekken bid and so Bandai Namco successful caller years, and has spoken openly astir the improvement difficulties he's endured portion astatine the company. Most recently, Tekken 8 has caused a large woody of friction betwixt players and the improvement team, and Harada has stepped successful aggregate times connected societal media to code instrumentality concern.

Tekken main Katsuhiro Harada volition permission Bandai Namco astatine the extremity of 2025. Photo by SIA KAMBOU/AFP via Getty Images.

Perhaps the astir high-profile illustration of this came successful October past year, erstwhile Harada addressed a enactment implicit the merchantability of a premium DLC signifier for Tekken 8 aft fans accused Bandai Namco of “corporate greed.” His mentation for the DLC signifier fundamentally came down to his relation connected Tekken wrong Bandai Namco, and his separation from the concern broadside of the cognition to absorption connected development. This structural set-up was a mistake, Harada admitted successful a tweet helium yet deleted, and helium confirmed plans to reorganize not lone the Tekken concern but his relation wrong it to guarantee assemblage expectations were met successful the future.

Here's what Harada said, astatine the time:

The Tekken task is divided into 2 companies: a crippled improvement workplace and a steadfast that is liable for crippled income (at the clip of the improvement and merchandise of Tekken 7, the improvement and publishing companies were not separate).As immoderate of you whitethorn know, I moved to the Development Studio broadside a fewer years ago, and person been focusing connected maximizing the prime of the content/tech/graphics etc...The improvement broadside and publishing broadside each person their ain roles, and determination are differences successful the mode they deliberation and the responsibilities, I who should beryllium the 1 to enactment arsenic a span betwixt the two, person not been capable to decently enactment successful the publishing (sales) decision-making process for Tekken. As a result, I deliberation that determination were parts of the process that did not instrumentality the Tekken community's sentiment into account.I deliberation I failed to make an organizational operation that would let maine to oversee things beyond my ain position.One of my roles was to perceive to the opinions of the assemblage and bespeak them not lone successful the contented but besides successful the out-game, but I was intelligibly becoming passive, worrying astir the relationships betwixt companies and not exercising my role.From present on, I volition reappraisal this operation and alteration it to 1 that values the assemblage arsenic it did successful the past.

It was a typically frank connection from Harada, who was ne'er shy to knock his paymasters astatine Bandai Namco implicit their absorption of Tekken and the company’s assorted warring crippled franchises. In June past year, for example, Harada was remarkably candid successful discussing wherefore Soul Calibur disappeared, and has spoken astir trying and failing to get KFC mascot Colonel Sanders successful Tekken.

Here's Harada's exit connection successful full:

I’d similar to stock that I’ll beryllium leaving Bandai Namco astatine the extremity of 2025.With the TEKKEN bid reaching its 30th anniversary—an important milestone for a task I’ve devoted overmuch of my beingness to—I felt this was the astir fitting infinitesimal to bring 1 section to a close.My roots prevarication successful the days erstwhile I supported tiny section tournaments successful Japanese arcades and successful tiny halls and assemblage centers overseas.I inactive retrieve carrying arcade cabinets by myself, encouraging radical to “Please effort TEKKEN,” and straight facing the players close successful beforehand of me.The conversations and ambiance we shared successful those places became the halfway of who I americium arsenic a developer and crippled creator.Even arsenic the times changed, those experiences person remained astatine the halfway of my identity.And adjacent aft the tourney country grew overmuch larger, galore of you continued to dainty maine similar an aged friend—challenging maine astatine venues, inviting maine retired for drinks astatine bars.Those memories are besides profoundly precious to me.In caller years, I experienced the nonaccomplishment of respective adjacent friends successful my idiosyncratic life, and successful my nonrecreational beingness I witnessed the status oregon passing of galore elder colleagues whom I profoundly respect.Those accumulated events made maine bespeak connected the “time I person near arsenic a creator.”During that period, I sought proposal from Ken Kutaragi—whom I respect arsenic though helium were different father—and received invaluable encouragement and guidance.His words softly supported maine successful making this decision.Over the past 4 to 5 years, I’ve gradually handed implicit each of my responsibilities, arsenic good arsenic the stories and worldbuilding I oversaw, to the team, bringing maine to the contiguous day.Looking back, I was fortunate to enactment connected an bonzer assortment of projects—VR titles (such arsenic Summer Lesson), Pokkén Tournament, the SoulCalibur series, and galore others, some wrong and extracurricular the company.Each task was afloat of caller discoveries and learning, and each 1 of them became an irreplaceable acquisition for me.To everyone who has supported me, to communities astir the world, and to each the colleagues who person walked alongside maine for truthful galore years, I connection my deepest gratitude.I’ll stock much astir my adjacent steps astatine a aboriginal date.Thank you precise overmuch for everything.

Harada joined Namco (long earlier the acquisition that created the Bandai Namco we cognize today) successful the aboriginal '90s to enactment connected Tekken's arcade versions, which ever launched archetypal earlier console ports were released. He spent overmuch of his clip visiting Japanese arcades to cheque however Tekken was being played retired successful the wild, fundamentally surviving astatine the office.

At the time, Harada was a inferior subordinate of staff, but implicit the people of respective years helium worked his mode up the concatenation to go the manager of Tekken and the look of the franchise, attending assemblage events portion wearing his trademark sunglasses and making a fist — a notation to Tekken's tagline, 'The King of Iron Fist,' — for photograph opps.

1998's Tekken 3, which is considered by galore to beryllium 1 of the top warring games of each time, was the archetypal Harada worked connected arsenic manager and a smash hit, selling astatine slightest 8.36 cardinal PlayStation copies worldwide. It became the PS1's 5th best-selling crippled ever up of the likes of Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil 2.

Harada's exit comes astatine a crossroads for Tekken. Tekken 8 sold 3 cardinal copies a twelvemonth from release, according to Bandai Namco, which said the crippled was selling astatine a faster gait than Tekken 7. But we haven't had a income update since January, and Bandai Namco has yet to denote caller DLC characters for a imaginable Season 3. Will Bandai Namco merchandise a Tekken 9 immoderate clip soon?

Photo by SIA KAMBOU/AFP via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].