There’s an air of excitement and anticipation in the Tekken community, with the recent network test of Tekken 8 unleashing a storm of speculation and supposed leaks.
Fans used the Cheat Engine, a PC application that allows players to manipulate their games via community-made scripts, to pry into the highly awaited game’s character roster.
From the data mined, around 38 playable characters have surfaced. Surprisingly it includes several unannounced characters from the Tekken franchise. Some, like the series mainstays Marshall Law, Jin Kazama, and King, have been confirmed, while others, like Yoshimitsu, have yet to be officially announced by Namco.
Interestingly, the leak reveals a return of Steve and Alisa, whose inclusions are highly anticipated. Equally intriguing are the returns of Shaheen and Zafina, with Raven appearing, but not as Master Raven from Tekken 7. Notably, Kuma, a character that’s been in every mainline Tekken game, is conspicuously absent from the list, leading fans to believe the list is likely incomplete.
While the leaked roster is a topic of intense discussion and speculation, it’s vital to note that the Cheat Engine list doesn’t confirm the full roster available on launch day.
Here’s a full list of all the characters found via the Cheat Engine:
- Paul Phoenix
- Marshall Law
- King
- Hwoarang
- Ling Xiaoyu
- Jin Kazama
- Bryan Fury
- Lili
- Lars Alexandersson
- Claudio Serafino
- Nina Williams
- Leroy Smith
- Kazuya Mishima
- Jack-8
- Asuka Kazama
- Jun Kazama
- Yoshimitsu
- Shaheen
- Raven (Default Type A)
- Zafine (Default Type A)
- Steve (Default Type A)
- Alisa (Default Type A)
The characters found via Cheat Engine include Paul Phoenix, Marshall Law, King, Hwoarang, Ling Xiaoyu, Jin Kazama, Bryan Fury, Lili, Lars Alexandersson, Claudio Serafino, Nina Williams, Leroy Smith, Kazuya Mishima, Jack-8, Asuka Kazama, Jun Kazama, Yoshimitsu, Shaheen, Raven, Zafina, Steve, and Alisa.
Furthermore, the order of the characters suggests a possible reveal strategy for the developers. It’s possible the remaining characters will be announced in the same order as listed. Also, keep in mind that the developers haven’t confirmed the size of the game’s roster, except that it’ll be bigger than its competition. Many speculate the base roster to range between 25 and 30.
It’s important to approach these rumors cautiously, as developers could still alter the final roster before the game’s release. The Tekken community’s response has been mixed, with some corroborating the authenticity of the leak on Twitter, while others remain skeptical.
Tekken 8’s closed network playtest has seen considerable popularity, peaking at 8000 concurrent players on Steam alone. Fans’ enthusiasm is so high that some are even selling closed network codes on websites like eBay.
The official announcement of Tekken 8 came last September during a PlayStation State of Play livestream. No release date has been confirmed yet, but the game is planned for release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam. The developers, including Street Fighter 2 designer, Akira Nishitani, have leveraged current-gen console hardware to enhance the game’s visual appeal, effectively discarding last-gen consoles.
With the features like crossplay and rollback netcode already confirmed, Tekken 8 promises to be a stellar addition to the franchise, with a release in 2024 highly likely.
But, if Tekken 8 does come out this year, it’s going to make fighting game fans very happy. Street Fighter 6, which rolled out last month, is widely considered one of the best entries in the series. Another fighting game, Mortal Kombat 1, will hit the store shelves on September 19.
Speaking of Tekken 8’s initial reveal, Sony is believed to be preparing for a showcase next month or in September. Either makes for an excellent time for Bandai Namco to announce the official release date of Tekken 8.
