Unfortunately, Tekken Tag Tournament Games Are A Financial Black Hole
August 10, 2025
Recently, IGN got to ask a few big-name Tekken developers about the possibility of a new Tekken Tag Tournament game. Considering how the fighting game scene looks ready to embrace a tag-team-heavy future, it certainly made sense to ask about it. Katsuhiro Harada, Tekken's executive director, has thrown cold water on the idea, however.
Harada seems to be firmly against the concept of a Tekken Tag Tournament 3, mainly citing the challenge of having players buy into a game that requires twice the learning of a standard Tekken title. And frankly, Harada is right. Casual audiences have historically been averse to tag fighters for that very reason. Moreover, the Tekken series' sales history tells a clear story: it really isn't worth making a Tekken Tag Tournament game.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Was A Financial Flop
You don't have to look too far to see why the Tekken team wants no part in a new tag fighter. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was a massive flop. It remains the series' worst-selling title with just 1.8 million copies sold. While the game didn't exactly put the series at risk of being killed, it would have its ramifications. Tekken 7, for example, had a tighter budget. Even now, the higher-ups at Bandai Namco expect Tekken 8 to be a profit machine every passing year.
Financial failures leave a lasting damage on the creative process. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 just happened to be made in a time where that was okay to innocently ignore. Certainly, the Tekken team must have had the belief that the amount of effort put into the development of that game would be well-rewarded. After all, it is almost obscenely jam-packed with content. Unfortunately, they were well off the mark. Turns out, spoiling your fan base isn't worth it if you can't actually get people to buy your game.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 failed for various different reasons. Its biggest issue, in retrospect, was that it felt too much like a game designed for hardcore Tekken players. Who else would actually care that much about all of the game's features? And who else would actually care to learn how to play two distinct characters in a franchise known for its extreme difficulty? The lack of forethought back then clearly weighs on Harada's mind, because, in his interview with IGN, he specifically addressed how the Tekken Tag Tournament games often alienate casual audiences. No casual players means poor sales. A new Tekken Tag Tournament game is too financially risky to really consider.
Tag Fighting Could End Up As A Future Game Mode
While the Tekken Tag Tournament spin-off series might be as good as dead, the Tekken team seems relatively open to the idea of potentially including a tag-team mode in a more standard Tekken title. Instead of making a separate game with a separate budget, it probably does make more sense to include something like that as an addendum to a more traditional experience. Tag fighting as the main appeal just isn't something that can work for Tekken. It never has. It probably never will.
