Tekken 8 Chief Producer Kohei Ikeda announces exit from Bandai Namco after 20 years in X (Twitter) post on June 1.
Tekken 8 Chief Producer Parts Ways With Bandai Namco
Kohei Ikeda Leaves After 20 "Incredible" Years
Tekken 8 Chief Producer Kohei "Nakatsu" Ikeda leaves Bandai Namco Studios after 20 "incredible" years. As announced on his official X (Twitter) account on June 1, he looks back at his long stint with the company, calling it "truly a dream come true."
"While my role leading the team as Game Director is coming to a close, the values that both I personally and the Tekken Project have always cherished—staying close to the fans and the community and building the game together with everyone—will never change," he wrote, concluding the announcement with gratitude for everyone who had supported him and promising that he will "also continue taking on new challenges as a game developer."
This comes as a shock as this is the second exit from the acclaimed fighting series in the past six months, with Tekken’s most infamous director and producer, Katsuhiro Harada, leaving back in December 2025 after over 30 years with the company and the franchise. This leaves Tekken 8 game designer and producer Michael Murray to spearhead the game's active development and updates moving forward along with the Tekken team.
This article will be updated as information becomes available.
Source:
Kohei "Nakatsu" Ikeda Official X (Twitter)
