Dec 08, 2025
3 min read
Katsuhiro Harada has announced his departure from Bandai Namco having worked on the Tekken series for 30 years.
Katsuhiro Harada announced his departure from Bandai Namco still working on the TEKKEN series for 30 years.
The 55-year-old Japanese video game legend, who worked on all of the Tekken games up until last year's Tekken 8, said in a statement posted on social media that the loss of close friends in his personal life and the retirement or death of senior colleagues has left him considering the time he has left as a creator.Advice from Ken Kataragi — the "father of PlayStation" — supported Harda in making the decision, he said.Harda did not reveal what he planned.Later he did, but he did not say that he retired.
Harada has had a somewhat tense relationship with the Tekken series and Bandai Namco in recent years, and has openly expressed the developmental difficulties he experienced while working at the company.Lately, Tekken 8 has caused a lot of controversy among players and the development team, and Harada has posted on social media several times to address fans' concerns.
The most high-profile example of this came last year after Tekkan 8 fans were accused of being subjected to "corporate greed" when they were offered a certain level line when selling the Premium DLC level.His interpretation of the DLC level is basically Tekken at Port Namco, and is different from the business side of development.Harada was wrong, in the end he didn't just put in a set business, and the benefit of his teammates in the future is a role played to ensure that they are protected.
Here's what Harada had to say at the time:
The Tekken project is divided into two companies: a game development studio and a publisher responsible for game sales (during the development and release of Tekken 7, the development and publishing companies were not separate).
As some of you may know, I moved to a development studio a few years ago and focused on improving the quality of content/technology/graphics.
Each way of development and publishing, there are differences in the way of thinking and responsibilities that I have to act as bridges between two people, in the process of addiction (sales) I could not participate in the choice of decisions to decide the differences.As a result I think the parts that were not taken into account were not taken into account.
I don't think I could create an organizational structure that would allow me to control things outside of my position.
One of my roles was to listen to community feedback and reflect it not only in content but also outside of the game; but I was clearly becoming passive, worrying about relationships between companies and not fulfilling my role.
From now on, I will review this structure and change it to one that values the community as it has been in the past.
It was a candid statement from Harada, who has never been shy about criticizing Tekken and the company's salarymen at Bandan Namco over the development of its various fighting game franchises.For example, last June, Harada was quite candid in discussing why Soulcalibur was missing, and he talked about bringing KFC mascot Colonel Sanders to Tekken and failing.
Here is Harada's speech in full:
I would like to share that I will be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025.
As many searms marries his 30-year-old year for a great year for a project made my life.
My roots go back to supporting small local tournaments in Japanese arcades and small halls and community centers abroad.
I still remember carrying around the slot machine by myself, urging people to "please try TEKKEN" and standing in front of the players right in front of me.
The conversations and spirit we shared in these spaces was about me being a game developer and Creator.
Although times change, this experience remains central to my identity.
And even after the tournament scene grew a lot, many of you continued to treat me like an old friend – challenging me in arenas, inviting me for drinks in bars.
These memories are also very precious to me.
In recent years I have experienced the loss of close friends in my personal life and loss in my professional life.I have witnessed many colleagues of many senior colleagues whom I hold in high esteem.
These accumulated events made me think about "the time I have left as a creator".
During that time, I sought advice from Ken Kutaragi, whom I respected as much as any other father - and received non-therapeutic encouragement and guidance.
His words silently supported me in making this decision.
Over the past four to five years, I've gradually handed over all of my responsibilities, as well as the stories and world-building I oversaw, to the team, which has gotten me to where I am today.
Looking back, Pokkén Tournament, Pokkén Tournament, Soulcalibur series,
Each project was full of new discoveries and learnings, and each became a unique experience for me.
To everyone who has supported me, in other parts of the world, and to all the workers who have traveled with me over the years, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I will share more about my next steps later.
Thank you very much for everything.
Harada Namco (before Bandai Namco's acquisition of Namco) worked on the arcade versions of Tekken, which were first launched in the early 90s, before the console ports were launched.He spent most of his time checking out the Tekken tekken he spent in the Japanese arcade, mostly playing Tekken while living in the office.
At the time, Harada was a member who was a staff member, but he ended up working for several years on jiclines that were on the way to Prechise and he was in Tagline that was correct and he was going to Tagline that was correct, 'King of Tekken and - for a photo of The OPSPS.
According to many, 1998's Tekken 3 was Harada's first feature as a director and sold at least 8.36 million PlayStation copies worldwide. It became the fifth best-selling PS1 game of all time, behind games such as Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil 2.
Harada's exit comes at a crossroads for Tekken.Tekken 8 has sold 3 million copies a year since launch, according to Bandai Namco, who said the game sold at a faster rate than Tekken 7. But we haven't had a sales update since January, and Bandai Namco has yet to announce new DLC characters for a potential season 3. Will Bandai Namco release a Tekken 9 soon?
Know Silver / Afp Skill Image Image.
Wesley is Director, News at Terova.Find him on Twitter at @WYP100.You can reach @wesley_yinpoole or email [email protected]
