Bandai Namco has announced that the chief producer and game director of Tekken 8, Kohei Ikeda, has left the company. In a social media post, Ikeda has spoken about his departure, and his twenty-years-long tenure at Bandai Namco, which started with his work on Soulcalibur 4, before he was moved over to the Tekken franchise.
“As I reflect on the past 20 years at the company, I remember first stepping into game development through Soulcalibur 4,” wrote Ikeda in a statement. “Later, I was given the opportunity to work on the Tekken series – a franchise that had a tremendous impact on my life and one that I had always hoped to someday give back to. Being surrounded by passionate and incredibly talented mentors and colleagues, and dedicating ourselves wholeheartedly to game development together, remains one of the most cherished experiences of my life.”
Ikeda had served as game director on Tekken 7 and 8, and while the reasons behind his departure haven’t been revealed, the director and producer has had nothing but positive things to say about his time at Bandai Namco. He also thanked the larger fighting game community with which he got to interact as the director of the two most recent Tekken titles.
“Whether it was hearing someone at an event say, ‘Thank you for working so hard for us!’ or being told, ‘You need to balance the game better!’ – every one of those comments supported and motivated me,” he wrote. “For that, I am truly grateful.”
“And to the development team members who fought alongside me for so many years – I can never thank you enough. There is no doubt that everything we achieved was possible because of this team.”
Ikeda wrapped up his statement by noting that he looks forward to seeing where the Tekken franchise goes and how the fighting game community will continue shaping the development of the series. He also noted that he isn’t stepping away from game development, saying that “I will also continue taking on new challenges as a game developer.”
Along with Tekken 7 and 8, Ikeda has worked on quite a few titles during his tenure at Bandai Namco, which has spanned two decades, including beloved games like Tekken Tag Tournament 2. On Soulcalibur 4, he had also worked as a battle effect director alongside his game designer duties.
Ikeda is the second major departure from Bandai Namco’s Tekken team in the last seven months, with former chief producer and game director of Tekken 8, Katsuhiro Harada, having announced his departure back in December 2025. At the time, he spoke about how he was leaving the company during the 30th anniversary of the Tekken franchise, and how he felt that this was the ideal time to bring that chapter of his life to an end.
Harada has since announced the founding of a new development studio, dubbed VS Studio, which was formed thanks to investment from SNK. The name of the studio should come as no surprise, since Harada has been largely working on fighting games for the majority of his career.
Tekken 8, in the meantime, is going through its third Season Pass, and Bandai Namco recently announced that Baki the Grappler’s Yujiro Hanma will be joining the roster in early 2027.
