On Monday morning, Katsuhiro Harada announced he will be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025. Harada has been the Game Director and Chief Producer of the Tekken series for the last 30 years, and in his statement on X (Twitter), he reveals that he felt this was the best moment to close this chapter of his career.
Katsuhiro Harada also confirmed he will be at the Tekken World Tour Finals at the end of January 2026, as Bandai Namco asked him to be there. He also revealed he will be releasing a 60-minute Tekken DJ-style nonstop mix personally edited by himself.
A replacement for Harada has not yet been announced, nor has his next chapter.
Here is Harada’s full statement on leaving Bandai Namco:
My roots lie in the days when I supported small local tournaments in Japanese arcades and in small halls and community centers overseas.
I still remember carrying arcade cabinets by myself, encouraging people to “Please try TEKKEN,” and directly facing the players right in front of me.
The conversations and atmosphere we shared in those places became the core of who I am as a developer and game creator.Even as the times changed, those experiences have remained at the center of my identity.
And even after the tournament scene grew much larger, many of you continued to treat me like an old friend—challenging me at venues, inviting me out for drinks at bars.
Those memories are also deeply precious to me.
In recent years, I experienced the loss of several close friends in my personal life, and in my professional life I witnessed the retirement or passing of many senior colleagues whom I deeply respect.
Those accumulated events made me reflect on the “time I have left as a creator.”
During that period, I sought advice from Ken Kutaragi—whom I respect as though he were another father—and received invaluable encouragement and guidance.
His words quietly 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 worldbuilding I oversaw, to the team, bringing me to the present day.
Looking back, I was fortunate to work on an extraordinary variety of projects—VR titles (such as Summer Lesson), Pokkén Tournament, the SoulCalibur series, and many others, both inside and outside the company.
Each project was full of new discoveries and learning, and every one of them became an irreplaceable experience for me.
To everyone who has supported me, to communities around the world, and to all the colleagues who have walked alongside me for so many years, I offer my deepest gratitude.
I’ll share more about my next steps at a later date.
Thank you very much for everything.
Tekken 8 will be known as the last major game that Harada directed with Bandai Namco. There was a story last year that Colonel Sanders was considered to be in Tekken 8, but KFC rejected the idea when it was brought up by the Tekken director. Waffle House was also considered to possibly be a stage due to fan feedback.
