Katsuhrio Harada—one of the driving forces behind Tekken and the series head honcho for the last 20 years—is hanging up his fighting gloves at the end of this year.
He announced his retirement in a lengthy X post, saying that 2025 would be his final year at Bandai Namco and as the project leader on Tekken. “With the Tekken series reaching its 30th anniversary—an important milestone for a project I’ve devoted much of my life to—I felt this was the most fitting moment to bring one chapter to a close,” he wrote.
A good chunk of the post is dedicated to his interactions with the community over the last three decades. “My roots lie in the days when I supported small local tournaments in Japanese arcades and in small halls and community centres overseas,” he said. “I still remember carrying arcade cabinets by myself, encouraging people to ‘Please try Tekken,’ and directly facing the players right in front of me.”
Harada said that those experiences “became the core of who I am as a developer and game creator,” something which continued even as both Tekken and the FGC at large grew bigger. “Many of you continued to treat me like an old friend—challenging me at venues, inviting me out for drinks at bars,” he wrote. “Those memories are deeply precious to me.”
I’d like to share that I’ll be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025.With the TEKKEN series reaching its 30th anniversary—an important milestone for a project I’ve devoted much of my life to—I felt this was the most fitting moment to bring one chapter to a close.My roots lie…December 8, 2025
As for his retirement, he wrote that numerous factors are at play—the loss of “several close personal friends” and witnessing “the retirement or passing of many senior colleagues whom I deeply respect.”
I can only assume one of the people Harada is talking about is Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki, who passed away in October at the age of 58. At the time, Harada posted to X, saying: “To think that he’s gone at just 58 years old… Yes, everyone dies eventually… that’s inevitable. But you… isn’t it a bit too soon?”
Apparently, Harada even went to former PlayStation boss Ken Kutaragi for advice, writing that “His words quietly supported me in making this decision.”
(Image credit: Leon Bennett via Getty.)
His post continues to say that he’s been in the business of slowly handing off responsibilities for half a decade now, concluding: “Each project was full of new discoveries and learning, and every one of them became an irreplaceable experience for me. To everyone who has supported me, to communities around the world, and to all the colleagues who have walked alongside me for so many years, I offer my deepest gratitude. I’ll share more about my next steps at a later date. Thank you very much for everything.”
It is kind of wild to see Harada finally departing. It’s difficult to think of a Tekken without him, and despite the fact that Tekken 8 has been in pretty rough shape in the last year, it’ll still be a damn shame to see him go. His close involvement with the community—including always having an ear close to the ground in Western territories—made him stand out among other Japanese fighting game developers.
Aside from a very lengthy Harada-style social media post, he’s also gone ahead and dropped a mix on Soundcloud called “TEKKEN: A 30-Year Journey – Harada’s Final Mix,” an hour-long musical homage to his career. I have been listening to it while writing this, and yeah, it’s pretty damn good.
There’s no word on who will be taking over in his absence just yet, and Harada isn’t totally vanishing straight away. The Tekken X account posted its own statement, saying that Harada will still be making an appearance at the Tekken World Tour 2025 finals happening in Sweden at the end of January.
The post also has a quick paragraph about the series’ future. “To our fans, rest assured that we are fully committed to future development and content plans for Tekken 8,” it reads. “We will continue to take community feedback on the game and its content to heart to ensure that we uphold the vision and spirit built by Harada-san, dedicating our utmost efforts to ensure the legacy of the Tekken series continues as a fighting game franchise beloved worldwide.”
