Players might get to try out the upcoming Tekken 8 sooner than expected if a new leak is to be believed. 2023 looks to be a banner year for fighting game fans, as both Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 are set to launch over the next few months. Back in September, it was confirmed that a new Tekken game was in the works as well, with a pulse-pounding Tekken 8 trailer being shown off during a PlayStation State of Play livestream.
Not much is known yet about Tekken 8’s plot, but previous trailers have indicated that it will continue the bitter father-son feud between Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama following the final death of Heihachi Mishima at the end of Tekken 7. Plenty of other fan favorites from past Tekken games have also been confirmed, and the development team promises that Tekken 8 will be much more aggressive than previous entries thanks to its new Rage and Heat combat systems.
While there hasn’t been any official release date for Tekken 8 as of this writing, fans might get the chance to experience these brutal new gameplay mechanics soon. A recent update on SteamDB speaks of a “Tekken 8 Playtest” being added to Tekken 8's main Steam page earlier today. What exactly this playtest is hasn't been made clear yet, but it could be for some sort of playable Tekken 8 demo designed to test out the game’s mechanics or online server infrastructure ahead of launch.
There have been quite a few unofficial Tekken 8 leaks over the past week or so, with the latest example being that longtime Tekken villain Bryan Fury would return to wreak havoc on the competition. This reveal was leaked ahead of schedule, drawing criticism from none other than Tekken 8 director Katsuhiro Harada. Before that, the Tekken 8 character selection screen was posted online by a fan, giving players another look at some of the game’s previously-revealed playable combatants.
Like with most online Tekken 8 leaks and unconfirmed updates, it might be best to take SteamDB’s recent “Tekken 8 playtest” leak with a grain of salt for the time being. There might not be an upcoming Tekken 8 demo after all, especially with Bandai Namco still hosting the Tekken World Tour event in Tekken 7. In any case, more information on Tekken 8 could be coming soon during next week’s Summer Game Fest.
Tekken 8 is in development for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: SteamDB