Tekken And Bandai Namco Loses Veteran Developer Kohei Ikeda

The Tekken series has been 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 Just Left Bandai Namco

Tekken 8 is in a weird spot. The game has faced near-constant backlash since its 2024 release, most recently with the start of Season 3. It faced a fresh wave of review-bombings, with fans sharing they felt Bandai Namco was "disrespecting the fanbase." This forced its developers to rush out an emergency patch to try to counter some of the negative response.

A few months earlier, Tekken creative director Katsuhiro Harada, who'd previously said he felt online media had made Tekken 8's negative reaction seem worse than it was, announced he was leaving Bandai Namco after 30 years.

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

Ikeda, known as Nakatsu, has been with Bandai Namco since the mid-2000s, first serving as a game designer for SoulCalibur 4. He went on to have roles across the Ragnarok Odyssey, Ace Combat, and Digimon Story franchises before becoming director of Tekken 7 and chief producer of Tekken 8. He took over from Harada following his exit. However, his tenure in Harada's shoes was short-lived, and he now heads for the exit door himself.

"I have officially left Bandai Namco Entertainment after many years with the company," Nakatsu says in a statement posted on social media. After reminiscing about his time with the company, he says that he has entrusted "that baton to the incredible team that will continue shaping the future of Tekken," adding, "I will also continue taking on new challenges as a game developer." It is unclear whether he will be joining Harada, who now serves as representative director and CEO of VS Studio SNK.

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

TheGamer has reached out to Bandai Namco to see if it can shed any light on who is taking charge.