5 methods Tekken 8: Season 3 can redeem the collection: Is there nonetheless hope?

Tekken 8 hasn’t had the most effective of instances since its Season 2 patch. Launched in March this 12 months, developer Bandai Namco meant to rebalance the vast majority of the title’s characters, whereas rolling out new ones in addition to new ranges. Nonetheless, a firestorm of criticism leveled on the balancing has put the developer on the again foot ever since, with overpowered assaults and extra.

Tekken 8 Season 3’s launch date appears set to be early subsequent 12 months, if earlier seasons are to go by, which may rescue the sport from the jaws of defeat within the combating sport style. Nonetheless, now that collection producer Katsuhiro Harada is leaving Bandai Namco and the Tekken collection after 2025, the subsequent season may go in many various instructions. With this in thoughts, listed below are 5 methods Tekken 8 Season 3 can redeem the title.

The mess of Patch 2.00’s launch in March this 12 months is one thing that Bandai Namco remains to be making an attempt to repair. Characters can deal devastating assaults that aren’t blockable, in addition to others that make the sport appear unfair to each new and veteran gamers. It’s merely baffling how the builders didn’t attain out to followers for suggestions earlier than releasing the patch, however for Season 3, issues will be reset.

When the subsequent season arrives, the subsequent main steadiness patch will must be launched as a beta for longstanding gamers. On this technology of consoles and PCs, it’s simpler than ever for gamers to enroll in beta releases of video games with seismic modifications. Bandai Namco would do properly to do the identical for Tekken 8. This manner, gamers can straight give suggestions to builders on what’s working and what’s not with the steadiness patch.

Certainly, shorter combos will be a part of the subsequent huge steadiness patch, nevertheless it’s one thing gamers have observed when taking part in the Character Episode modes. As fighters like Kazuya and Yoshimitsu are used within the offline modes, there are quite a few combos that final far too lengthy, with others being unblockable.

For Tekken 8 Season 3, it’d be helpful to gamers of all talent ranges for Bandai Namco to work on lowering the variety of combos that make loads of battles no enjoyable to play. Including in alternatives for gamers to counter, block, and dodge in simpler methods, maybe with barely longer moments for these alternatives to current themselves, would convey the enjoyable again into these fights as soon as once more.

Kunimitsu has lengthy been a fan-favourite character within the Tekken collection. Since her debut within the first title again in 1994, she has been just like Yoshimitsu, however fights with a dagger. Kunimitsu’s look in 2012’s Tekken Tag Match 2 seemingly solidified her reputation with nice strikes, costumes, and extra.

Season passes in Tekken all the time supply new characters for gamers to make use of. Season 2 has featured the return of Heihachi, Anna Williams, and others, however they’ve not had as huge an affect as others from earlier seasons. Kunimitsu could be a good way to begin Season 3’s character roster with a bang, to drum up pleasure and encouragement that Bandai Namco is righting the ship after Season 2.

Earlier than Season 2 was a catastrophe for gamers in balancing characters and releasing characters that many didn’t care to see, in February 2024, Bandai Namco introduced the Tekken Store. This was one thing that had not been introduced within the lead-up to Tekken 8’s launch, so its look a month after the sport got here out was a shock to many. Right here, you should purchase outfits and music tracks with its in-game foreign money, Tekken Coin. Regardless of the store making sense in some methods, particularly given the excessive value of sport improvement, it stays a sore level with gamers.

For instance, the costume above for King is taken from Tekken 2; the one technique to acquire it’s through the Tekken Store, not by incomes it via Ghost Mode or different means. It leaves a foul style in gamers’ mouths, and Bandai Namco isn’t precisely combating money stream. For Season 3, it’d be good to see a few of these outfits made out there as a part of the move or moved to a few of the offline modes. 

A Tekken Store can work, nevertheless it ought to service everybody who’s purchased Tekken 8 for its RRP of $70, as a substitute of tempting gamers to purchase much more. Season 3 ought to make some headway in altering this to learn all gamers.

Considered one of Tekken’s finest attributes is its fully random mode, which is each difficult and gratifying. Tekken 3’s Tekken Ball Mode is a superb instance of that, the place assaults are put into the ball, or Tekken Tag’s Bowling mode, the place you’re making an attempt to rack up as many factors as doable. These have all the time been a pleasant break from the primary modes, which have grow to be fond favorites for a lot of gamers.

For as soon as, Bandai Namco ought to break with custom by providing these modes in a brand new title and reveal a very new one for Tekken 8 Season 3, within the type of Tekken Tennis. This could possibly be a good way for gamers to make use of their favorite fighters in units of singles and doubles, with completely different tennis rackets as well. The mania and unpredictability really feel good for Tekken as a brand new mode, and will give gamers much more reassurance that Bandai Namco is aware of what it’s doing with the collection once more.

It’s no secret that Tekken 8 has seen a number of ups and downs since its January 2024 launch. The debut of the Tekken Store a month later, with no pre-warning, wasn’t Bandai Namco’s most interesting second, nor was Season 2 for a lot of 2025, from the steadiness patch to underwhelming Tekken 8 DLC characters.

However Season 3 can proper loads of wrongs, from a better-communicated steadiness patch to bringing again some fan-favorite fighters. Bandai Namco has an actual alternative to make Tekken 8 the de facto combating sport for a lot of gamers. From informal occasions to worldwide esports tournaments, there’s a giant must inject some pleasure into Tekken after the previous two years, and Season 3 needs to be the beginning of that.