Katsuhiro Harada – known for his work on various fighting games under the Bandai Namco banner and the game director and chief producer of Tekken 8 – has announced that he will be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025. In a lengthy post on social media, Harada spoke about this decision, his history with the company, and how it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Tekken franchise.
“I’d like to share that I’ll be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025,” announced Harada. “With the Tekken series reaching its 30th anniversary—an important milestone for a project I’ve devoted much of my life to—I felt this was the most fitting moment to bring one chapter to a close.”
Harada went into detail about how he started out with the company, and how his roots have always been with the grass roots tournament scenes that sprouted around fighting games in arcades from the 1990s. He wrote about carrying arcade cabinets by himself to various tournament venues and encouraging players to try out the brand new 3D fighting game Tekken at the time.
“My roots lie in the days when I supported small local tournaments in Japanese arcades and in small halls and community centers overseas,” he wrote. “I still remember carrying arcade cabinets by myself, encouraging people to ‘Please try Tekken,’ and directly facing the players right in front of me. The conversations and atmosphere we shared in those places became the core of who I am as a developer and game creator.”
As for the future of Tekken 8 and the franchise as a whole, Harada has been handing off some of his responsibilities over the last few years to different members of his teams. This means that development on these titles will continue even well after his departure from Bandai Namco. Closing things out, he reminisced about having worked on interesting titles during his time at the company, from Pokken Tournament to VR title Summer Lesson.
“Each project was full of new discoveries and learning, and every one of them became an irreplaceable experience for me,” he wrote.
Ultimately, Harada’s last appearance in an official capacity for the Tekken franchise is slated to be at the Tekken World Tournament Finals at the end of January 2026. He noted that, since this is going to be his chance to enjoy the tournament without having to worry about his game-related responsibilities, he is also releasing an hour-long “Tekken DJ-style nonstop mix (DJ mix),” to fulfil a dream of his to have performed as a DJ at a tournament. This hour-long track can be checked out on SoundCloud under the title “Tekken: A 30-Year Journey – Harada’s Final Mix”.
While he originally started out as a voice actor on the original Tekken, he would move on to the role of director with the release of Tekken 3. He would serve as director up to the release of Tekken 5, after which he took on producer duties over the franchise. In the meantime, he also worked on titles like the Tekken Tag Tournament games, as well as Soulcalibur. This year’s Shadow Labyrinth will mark the final Bandai Namco release with Harada’s name as an executive producer.
It’s always a significant moment when a key figure like Katsuhiro Harada departs from a company. His contributions to the fighting game genre have been immensely impactful, and it will be interesting to see how his legacy continues to shape the industry moving forward. Wishing him the best in his future endeavors!
contributions to the Tekken series have truly shaped the fighting game genre. It will be interesting to see how the franchise evolves without his creative direction. Hopefully, he continues to influence the gaming industry in new ways!
Absolutely, Harada’s influence on the Tekken series has been monumental. It’s fascinating to consider how his departure might affect future game development, especially with the rise of new fighting game mechanics and technologies. It’ll be intriguing to see who steps into his role and how they bring their own vision to the franchise.
It’s fascinating to consider how his vision shaped not just Tekken but the entire fighting game genre. His ability to innovate while respecting the series’ roots truly set a standard for future developers. It’ll be interesting to see how the franchise evolves without his guidance.
I completely agree! Harada’s influence really set the standard for character development and gameplay mechanics in fighting games. It’s interesting to think about how future titles might evolve without his creative input.