Katsuhiro Harada — the developer who has come to personify the Tekken franchise — has announced he will depart Bandai Namco and step away from Tekken at the close of 2025. Harada has been involved with the series since its origin in 1994.
“With the Tekken series reaching its 30th anniversary — a milestone for a project I’ve dedicated much of my life to — I felt this was the most appropriate moment to conclude one chapter,” Harada, 55, wrote on X.
He reflected on the early days of promoting Tekken in arcades and small local tournaments: carrying cabinets, personally urging people to “please try Tekken,” and engaging directly with players. “Those conversations and the atmosphere we created in those spaces shaped me as a developer and creator,” he said.
Harada explained that recent personal and professional losses influenced his decision — possibly including the recent passing of his long-time rival Tomonobu Itagaki. “Over the past few years I lost several close friends in my personal life and watched many senior colleagues I admired retire or pass away in my professional life,” he wrote. “Those events made me think deeply about the time I have left as a creator.”
He also noted he discussed his plans with PlayStation luminary Ken Kutaragi, and promised to share details of his next steps at a later date.
Harada joined Namco straight from university, beginning as an arcade-sales representative. After requesting a move into development, he contributed to Tekken from the first title onward — providing voice work, promoting the games, and eventually moving into direction with 1997’s Tekken 3. He rose to become the franchise’s project lead and served as a senior producer and marketer at Bandai Namco, earning a reputation among fans for his larger-than-life personality, wry humor, candid remarks, and playful rivalries within the fighting-game community.
To sign off, Harada invited fans to sample his SoundCloud. After years of joking about DJing at events, he shared — “for the first and last time” — an hour-long techno mix inspired by Tekken’s driving soundtracks, “personally edited by myself.”
Source: Polygon
