After months of hype and character trailers, Tekken 8 recently came through with a concrete release date. The next fighter from Bandai Namco and longtime producer Katsuhiro Harada launches on January 26, 2024, promising a base roster of 32 playable characters. While we wait for our turn in the ring, let’s take a look at all the announced characters in Tekken 8 so far.
Every Tekken 8 character we’ve seen
Those who have been keeping up with the sprawling story of Tekken for the better part of three decades will be delighted to see some familiar faces. Tekken 8 brings a bunch of classic characters back while trickling out some new introductions. Here’s an overview of all 24 Tekken 8 characters we know of right now:
Asuka Kazama
First Appearance: Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
A member of the Kazama family with a strong sense of justice, Asuka’s relationship within the family is complicated. She practices Kazama Style Traditional Martial Arts.
Azucena
First Appearance: Tekken 8
One of the first newcomers to be introduced, Azucena is a coffee plantation heir who grew up in the mountains of Peru. She’s known for her skills in Mixed Martial Arts, and aims to use the tournament to promote the family business.
Bryan Fury
First Appearance: Tekken 3
No one makes the transition from police detective to undead cyborg like Bryan Fury. Death won’t hold him back, but his kickboxing makes sure his opponents stay down.
Claudio Serafino
First Appearance: Tekken 7
Claudio leads the Archers of Sirius as the purported “world’s strongest exorcist.” Needless to say, this comes in handy when dealing with some of the devilish powers at play in the Tekken world. We’re looking at you, Kazuya! His fighting techniques are rooted in Sirius-style exorcism sorcery.
Hwoarang
First Appearance: Tekken 3
Kicking it in the series since 1997, Hwoarang is a fighter you don’t want to mess with. He first entered the tournament to avenge his master using impeccable Taekwondo, and he’s been a mainstay ever since.
Jack-8
First Appearance: Tekken 8
While Tekken 8 is technically the first appearance of Jack-8, this super fighting robot has been around in different forms since the beginning. Jack debuted in the first Tekken, followed by Jack-2, Jack-3 (AKA Gun Jack), and… you get the picture.
Jin Kazama
First Appearance: Tekken 3
Jin Kazama may not have appeared until the third entry, but he’s been one of the focal points of the series ever since. While he’s usually trying to put an end to the Mishima bloodline, he took an antagonist turn in Tekken 6. Now he’s back in the spotlight and looking to challenge his tumultuous family tree once again.
Jun Kazama
First Appearance: Tekken 2
Jun raised her son, Jin Kazama, after failing in an attempt to save Kazuya Mishima from the influence of the Devil. She’s been out of the playable circuit for a while now, but she’s here once more to rock her highly effective Kazama Style.
Kazuya Mishima
First Appearance: Tekken
It wouldn’t be Tekken without Kazuya Mishima, who started off as the main hero before becoming a notorious villain. Like others in his family, Kazuya uses Mishima Style Fighting Karate, and he ain’t afraid to dance with the Devil.
King
First Appearance: Tekken
For longtime Tekken players, King’s jaguar mask is iconic. As is his pro-wrestling fighting style, so it’s nice to see him hopping in the ring for another round.
Lars Alexandersson
First Appearance: Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion
As if the bloodlines of the series weren’t convoluted enough, Lars first came into play as the illegitimate child of Heihachi Mishima. He’s referred to as the “Lion of the Rebellion” since he leads the rebel army known as Yggdrasil.
Leo Kliesen
First Appearance: Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion
Hailing from Germany and aspiring to be a spelunker like his father, Leo first entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament to confront Kazuya. His fighting style is the Chinese martial art Bajiquan.
Leroy Smith
First Appearance: Tekken 7
Leroy lost his family to gang violence and was badly injured himself as a young boy. He took his dark past and channeled it into an effort to liberate his home city of New York before finding a connection between the violence and Heihachi Mishima. He uses the Wing Chun martial arts he studied while in Hong Kong.
Lili
First Appearance: Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
That’s Emilie De Rochefort to you! Actually, Lili is fine, and this tough-as-nails heiress uses a mix of street fighting and gymnastics to wallop her enemies into submission.
Ling Xiaoyu
First Appearance: Tekken 3
Ling started off with humble goals, like earning enough money from the King of Iron Fist Tournament to build her dream theme park. Naturally, those ambitions have deepened and intertwined with Tekken lore over time. Tekken 8 finds her in pursuit of a missing Jin Kazama, and she’ll use a deft blend of Chinese martial arts to do so.
Kuma
First Appearance: Tekken (Kuma I), Tekken 3 (Kuma II)
Kuma, which means bear in Japanese, is exactly that. The son of the original Kuma continues to train in the spirit of his master, Heihachi Mishima, and may have a game-changing secret weapon in the works.
Marshall Law
First Appearance: Tekken
Every good fighter needs a character inspired by the legendary Bruce Lee, and Marshall Law fits the bill. True to his inspiration, he practices Jeet Kun Do.
Nina Williams
First Appearance: Tekken
Nina uses her deadly assassination techniques to take down opponents. Her unique occupation even led to her starring in her own game in 2005 with PlayStation 2 action game Death by Degrees.
Paul Phoenix
First Appearance: Tekken
Another hard-hitting hothead, Paul Phoenix has been challenging the tourney since the start. His fighting style mixes various martial arts like Judo and Karate.
Raven
First Appearance: Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
This United Nations secret intelligence officer took a brief break in the previous entry, Tekken 7, which saw him replaced with superior officer Master Raven. His real name remains unknown, but you’ll easily spot him thanks to his trademark Ninjutsu moves.
Sergei Dragunov
First Appearance: Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
This Spetsnaz member is also known as The White Angel of Death, and for good reason. He originally tangled with the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament on a clandestine mission for the Russian military. Now he’s back to work out more of his hard-hitting Combat Sambo moves.
Shaheen
First Appearance: Tekken 7
Shaheen started his valiant fight against G Corporation after discovering they may have been responsible for his best friend’s death. Their tyranny remains firm in his heart and he fights back using military-trained close quarters combat.
Steve Fox
First Appearance: Tekken 4
Middleweight boxing champ Steve Fox previously found out he was made from Nina Williams’ genetic material. Mired in the mysteries of the past, Steve looks toward the future and searches for a new fighting style all his own.
Yoshimitsu
First Appearance: Tekken
Yoshimitsu might just be the busiest Tekken character, appearing in every game and moonlighting in the Soulcalibur series. He’s a space ninja, he’s wild as hell, and that’s pretty much all you need to know to choose him as your main.
Which Tekken 8 characters are new?
Out of all the characters announced so far, one so far is new to the series. That’s Peruvian MMA fighter Azucena Milagros Ortiz Castillo, also known as the “Coffee Queen.” She’s not just a skilled brawler, she’s the heir to a veritable coffee empire. In fact, she’s taking part in The King of Iron Fist Tournament to promote the Ortiz Farm, her family’s coffee plantation.
There’s another newcomer, but only one by technicality. Jack-8 is the latest model of Jack, a mighty robot whose first model was introduced back in the original Tekken. Tekken 7‘s Jack-7 (notice a pattern here?) has been upgraded for Tekken 8. He has a different voice and appearance and can now use rocket punches and summon a flying drill/laser cannon.
Who is that incredible Tekken 8 announcer?
If you watched all the character trailers for Tekken 8, the announcer no doubt had you entranced. That voice belongs to Lenne Hardt, an MMA announcer and voice actor with distinct, boisterous enthusiasm. She doesn’t just provide voiceover for Tekken trailers, she also voices Nina’s sister Anna Williams!
Beyond the Tekken 8 starting roster
Like any fighting game, Tekken 8 won’t simply stop with the launch roster and call it a day. The devs already confirmed a 32-character roster, and while there are leaks out there, we’ll just have to wait and see how it all pans out.
The first four post-launch characters will be available as part of the Playable Character Year 1 Pass. Tekken 8 launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on January 26, 2024.
