Tekken 8 Director Talks Crossplay

gameranx.com:

There are many reasons that fans are excited about Tekken 8. The first is that the previous title by Bandai Namco helped elevate the series to new heights and welcomed new fans while still catering to veteran gamers. The second reason is that the game looks beautiful via Unreal Engine 5. The team has said they’re pushing the engine hard to get the best-looking game possible. Another reason is the roster of characters that the team has been showing off through reveal trailers, including some “long gone” characters that are making their return after decades away.

But if you need a different reason to look forward to things, the director of Tekken 8, Katsuhiro Harada, has provided one on Twitter. A fan asked him whether crossplay would be available in the game. Harada replied that it would “of course” happen, then noted that he planned to do it for the last game but had issues with publishers:

Crossplay? Of course I will.BTWWhen the previous generation consoles were released, I had already proposed crossplay between the two platformers. However, at that time, they were at odds with each other over their mutual interests (and P2P security issue) & repeatedly refused. https://t.co/I8b38YfePh

He later went on to give another history lesson on the topic before reassuring fans that crossplay will be coming in the 8th mainline entry:

“Remember when they announced they were open to crossplay a few years ago?” Harada tweeted later on. 

“But in reality, they didn’t actively support third parties at the time, and the hurdles were actually quite high. There are still some problems left, but it will be possible.”

He’s not wrong about the history of crossplay and its woes, thanks to publisher rivalries. You might recall when Sony was