The summer of fighting games is continuing to build steam with Bandai Namco officially confirming a closed network test for Tekken 8 today that will feature a sizable chunk of the game’s roster and will finally let players go hands-on.
This test will be spread out over two weekends starting on July 21, with one run being exclusive to PlayStation 5 before hitting Xbox Series X|S and Steam for the second wave.
Bandai has been slowly sharing news about T8 for the eight months since the game was officially revealed last September, dropping character reveals almost monthly to keep fans of the franchise hyped. An early build of the game has been playable at a few industry events and bigger fighting game tournaments too, though this network test will introduce plenty of yet-unseen content.
For reference, I was able to play the build Bandai has been bringing to events back in March that included 10 characters and a handful of stages. This test version will feature 16 characters and five stages, meaning players will see Leroy Smith, Asuka Kazama, Lili De Rochefort, Hwoarang, Bryan Fury, and the teased Claudio Serafing fully playable—who was shown for the first time here.
Bandai has confirmed that this test will feature ranked matches and cross-platform play where applicable during the second weekend. This will act as a stress test of sorts for T8’s online matchmaking so the developers can improve upon it with further adjustments ahead of the game’s official launch.
We still don’t have a time frame for when Tekken 8 will release, though Street Fighter 6 is already bringing new players to the FGC and Mortal Kombat 1 looks like an interesting spin on another big-time fighter.
