Following on from its promise last week of a final release date for the beat ’em up sequel, Bandai Namco has confirmed that Tekken 7 will hit Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on June 2, much later than the ‘early 2017’ date that the developer had originally been aiming for. As per IGN, franchise director Katsuhiro Harada recently stated at a media event in Tokyo that Namco tried its best to get the brawler ready for an earlier release, but simply couldn’t meet the deadline while still delivering all of the content it wanted to within the timeframe.
We were trying to do everything we could to make that date happen… maybe to scale down on the content in order to make the master release, but in the end we came to the decision that [after] seeing releases from other companies, as well as some of the past of our own, where maybe things weren’t working 100% at launch, or maybe it was missing some content, that’s the kind of thing we wanted to avoid with Tekken 7.
Making an obvious reference to Capcom’s woeful launch of Street Fighter V last year, Harada clearly didn’t want to repeat those mistakes and would prefer to ship Tekken 7 with a full suite of features rather than add them post-launch, when it could already be too late. We’re of the mind that there’s both risks and merits to both models, but with Capcom’s attempt at trying a different approach falling flat, the delay is probably for the best.
Along with a firm launch date, Namco has also announced a slew of bonuses and platform exclusive extras for fans, including a bonus character – Eliza – who will be included in all pre-orders of the fighter. Those who pre-order the game digitally via the Xbox Store will be gifted a free copy of Tekken 6 via backwards compatibility, while PlayStation 4 players will receive extra costumes for King, Xiaoyu and Kin, all themed after their appearances in past entries.
Lastly, a Deluxe Edition (above) has been announced, which includes a season pass, a statue featuring Heihachi and Kazuya, a SteelBook case and a physical copy of Tekken 7‘s soundtrack. While Namco has yet to announce specifics, season pass content includes additional characters, costumes and a “unique game mode.” We’re not fans of the latter being locked behind an additional fee, but if it turns out to be a ‘for fun’ offering rather than a meaningful addition to Tekken 7‘s overall content package, then so be it.
Tekken 7‘s new June release date now means it’ll launch just one month after NetherRealm and DC’s Injustice 2, so you’re going to be spoilt for choice when it comes to fighting games this summer.