Bandai Namco Entertainment revealed at the EVO 2026 event on Sunday the gameplay reveal trailer for Bob, one of the characters for the Tekken 8 fighting game’s Season 3. The character will be available for early access on August 19, and will release officially on August 24.
Other Season 3 characters include Kunimitsu, Roger Jr., and Yūjirō Hanma, the father of protagonist Baki Hanma from the Baki manga and anime series. Kunimitsu launched on June 2 in Japan and June 1 in the United States. The character launched on Early Access on May 28 in Japan and May 27 in the U.S. Roger Jr. will launch in fall, and Yūjirō Hanma will debut in early 2027.
Season 2 added Anna Williams in March 2025, Fahkumram in July 2025, Armor King on October 13, and Miary Zo on December 4.
Tekken 8 launched for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam in January 2024.
The game featured the following characters at launch: Jin Kazama, Kazuya Mishima, Nina Williams, Jun Kazama, Paul Phoenix, Marshall Law, King, Lars Alexandersson, Jack-8, Ling Xiaoyu, Asuka Kazama, Leroy Smith, Lili, Hwoarang, Bryan, Azucena, Claudio, Raven, Devil Jin, Lee Chaolan, Alisa Bosconovitch, Victor Chevalier, Reina, Leo, Steve, Dragunov, Feng, Yoshimitsu, Shaheen, Kuma, Panda, Zafina, and Lee Chaolan.
The story of the game takes place nearly six months after Tekken 7. The Guinness World Records recognize the Tekken franchise as having the longest running narrative in video game history.
Eddy Gordo was added to the game in April 2024 as the first DLC character, followed by Lidia Sobieska in July 2024, and Heihachi Mishima in September 2024. The game added Clive Rosfield, the protagonist of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XVI game, as a playable character in December 2024.
The Tekken: Bloodline anime series, which follows the storyline of the Tekken 3 fighting game, premiered on Netflix in August 2022.
Tekken 8 game director Kohei Ikeda (also known as Nakatsu) announced on June 1 that he has left Bandai Namco Entertainment, having worked at the company for 20 years. Ikeda was the game director on the fighting games Tekken 7 and Tekken 8, the producer on the Tekken 3D Prime Edition game, and a designer for Tekken Tag Tournament 2. He was also a designer and battle effect director on SoulCalibur IV.
Source: Bandai Namco Entertainment America’s YouTube channel
