Tekken and Bandai Namco lost veteran developer Kohei Ikeda

The Tekken series is thrown into further disarray today as, following the recent departure of veteran developer Katsuhiro Harada, Bandai Namco just lost another legendary Tekken stalwart.

In a new statement, Tekken 8 game director and 20-year Bandai vet Kohei Ikeda announced that he is leaving the studio to take on “new challenges as a game developer.”

Tekken 8's game director has left Bandai Namco

Tekken 8 is in a strange place. The game has faced a steady backlash since its 2024 release, most recently with the launch of Season 3. It faced a new wave of review-bombing, with fans feeling that Bandai Namco was “disrespecting the fanbase”. This forced its developers to roll out an emergency patch to try to deal with some of the negative feedback.

A few months ago, Tekken creative director Katsuhiro Harada, who had previously said that he thought online media made the negative response to Tekken 8 worse than it was, announced that he would be leaving Bandai Namco after 30 years.

Now, less than six months after Harada's departure, the studio will be forced to reconsider the series, as another veteran, Kohei Ikeda, has announced that he will be leaving it behind.

Ikeda, known as Nakatsu, has been with Bandai Namco since the mid-2000s, previously serving as a game designer for SoulCalibur 4. He had roles in the Ragnarok Odyssey, Ace Combat, and Digimon Story franchises before becoming the director of Tekken 7, and the lead producer of Tekken 7 took over as lead producer of Tekken 8. However, his stint in Harada's shoes was short-lived, and now he's heading for the exit door himself.

A statement posted by Nakatsu on social media said, 'After many years with the company, I have officially left Bandai Entertainment. After reminiscing about his time with the company, he says he's “passing the baton to an incredible team that will continue to shape the future of Tekken,” adding, “I'll also continue to take on new challenges as a game developer.” It is unclear if he will join Harada, who currently serves as VS Studio SNK's representative director and CEO.

This news leaves Tekken's future in limbo. With fans still unhappy with the state of the title, and two of its most senior developers leaving for pastures new, everything is up in the air.

TheGamer reached out to Bandai Namco to see if they could shed any light on who is taking charge.