5 ways Tekken 8: Season 3 can redeem the series: Is there still hope?

Tekken 8 hasn’t had the best of times since its Season 2 patch. Released in March this year, developer Bandai Namco intended to rebalance the majority of the title’s characters, while rolling out new ones as well as new levels. However, a firestorm of criticism leveled at the balancing has put the developer on the back foot ever since, with overpowered attacks and more.

Tekken 8 Season 3’s release date looks set to be early next year, if previous seasons are to go by, which could rescue the game from the jaws of defeat in the fighting game genre. However, now that series producer Katsuhiro Harada is leaving Bandai Namco and the Tekken series after 2025, the next season could go in many different directions. With this in mind, here are five ways Tekken 8 Season 3 can redeem the title.

5 ways Tekken 8 season 3 can save the game 

Direct communication for balance patches

The mess of Patch 2.00’s release in March this year is something that Bandai Namco is still trying to fix. Characters can deal devastating attacks that aren’t blockable, as well as others that make the game seem unfair to both new and veteran players. It’s simply baffling how the developers didn’t reach out to fans for feedback before releasing the patch, but for Season 3, things can be reset.

When the next season arrives, the next major balance patch will need to be released as a beta for longstanding players. In this generation of consoles and PCs, it’s easier than ever for players to sign up for beta releases of games with seismic changes. Bandai Namco would do well to do the same for Tekken 8. This way, players can directly give feedback to developers on what’s working and what’s not with the balance patch.

Shorter combos

Indeed, shorter combos can be part of the next big balance patch, but it’s something players have noticed when playing the Character Episode modes. As fighters like Kazuya and Yoshimitsu are used in the offline modes, there are numerous combos that last far too long, with others being unblockable.

For Tekken 8 Season 3, it’d be beneficial to players of all skill levels for Bandai Namco to work on reducing the number of combos that make plenty of battles no fun to play. Adding in opportunities for players to counter, block, and dodge in easier ways, perhaps with slightly longer moments for these opportunities to present themselves, would bring the fun back into these fights once again.

Kunimitsu

Kunimitsu has long been a fan-favourite character in the Tekken series. Since her debut in the first title back in 1994, she has been similar to Yoshimitsu, but fights with a dagger. Kunimitsu’s appearance in 2012’s Tekken Tag Tournament 2 seemingly solidified her popularity with great moves, costumes, and more.

Season passes in Tekken always offer new characters for players to use. Season 2 has featured the return of Heihachi, Anna Williams, and others, but they’ve not had as big an impact as others from previous seasons. Kunimitsu would be a great way to start Season 3’s character roster with a bang, to drum up excitement and encouragement that Bandai Namco is righting the ship after Season 2.

Redesign the Tekken Shop

Before Season 2 was a disaster for players in balancing characters and releasing characters that many didn’t care to see, in February 2024, Bandai Namco announced the Tekken Shop. This was something that had not been announced in the lead-up to Tekken 8’s launch, so its appearance a month after the game came out was a surprise to many. Here, you can buy outfits and music tracks with its in-game currency, Tekken Coin. Despite the shop making sense in some ways, especially given the high cost of game development, it remains a sore point with players.

For example, the costume above for King is taken from Tekken 2; the only way to obtain it is via the Tekken Shop, not by earning it through Ghost Mode or other means. It leaves a bad taste in players’ mouths, and Bandai Namco isn’t exactly struggling with cash flow. For Season 3, it’d be good to see some of these outfits made available as part of the pass or moved to some of the offline modes. 

A Tekken Shop can work, but it should service everyone who’s bought Tekken 8 for its RRP of $70, instead of tempting players to buy even more. Season 3 should make some headway in changing this to benefit all players.

Tekken Tennis!

One of Tekken’s best attributes is its completely random mode, which is both challenging and enjoyable. Tekken 3’s Tekken Ball Mode is a great example of that, where attacks are put into the ball, or Tekken Tag’s Bowling mode, where you’re trying to rack up as many points as possible. These have always been a nice break from the main modes, which have become fond favorites for many players.

For once, Bandai Namco should break with tradition by offering these modes in a new title and reveal a completely new one for Tekken 8 Season 3, in the form of Tekken Tennis. This could be a great way for players to use their favourite fighters in sets of singles and doubles, with different tennis rackets to boot. The mania and unpredictability feel perfect for Tekken as a new mode, and could give players even more reassurance that Bandai Namco knows what it’s doing with the series again.

Conclusion

It’s no secret that Tekken 8 has seen a lot of ups and downs since its January 2024 release. The debut of the Tekken Shop a month later, with no pre-warning, wasn’t Bandai Namco’s finest moment, nor was Season 2 for much of 2025, from the balance patch to underwhelming Tekken 8 DLC characters.

But Season 3 can right plenty of wrongs, from a better-communicated balance patch to bringing back some fan-favorite fighters. Bandai Namco has a real opportunity to make Tekken 8 the de facto fighting game for many players. From casual events to worldwide esports tournaments, there’s a big need to inject some excitement into Tekken after the past two years, and Season 3 should be the start of that.

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