Tekken 8 devs miss competition from Virtua Fighter and Dead or Alive

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Fighting games are riding a high right now, and Tekken 8 looks to continue that momentum when it releases on January 26 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. But while we see a lot of diversity in the 2D fighting world with series like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, Tekken pretty much stands alone these days in the 3D realm.

That wasn’t always the case. When Tekken got started in the early days of 3D gaming in the era of the original PlayStation and the Sega Saturn, it was contending with Sega’s Virtua Fighter and Tecmo’s Dead or Alive. The last original Virtua Fighter, Virtua Fighter 5, debuted in 2006. Since then, we’ve seen nothing but remasters and mobile spin-offs from the franchise. Dead or Alive isn’t quite that dormant, with Dead or Alive 6 releasing in 2019, but it received a muted response from fans. We haven’t heard much about the series since.

So, while Tekken seems healthier than ever, it doesn’t feel like it’ll get any direct competition from another 3D fighter any time soon. And that’s something that Tekken 8 game director Kohei Ikeda regrets. I got to speak with him and director Michael Murray at a recent Tekken 8 preview event.

“It’s kind of lonely,” Ikeda said to me through a translator. “I wish that there were other rivals out there to push our limits, have someone to really make you motivated to push yourself even more.” He said that the Tekken team used to have Virtua Fighter and Dead or Alive competing with it in the 3D fighter genre. Then one day they looked around and it was just them.

“I feel the same way,” added Murray. “Tekken’s in a unique position.” He