Why the Tekken Creator Left Bandai Namco to Make the Final Game of His Career

Katsuhiro Harada has explained why he left Bandai Namco and founded VS Studio with support from SNK. He wants to devote the remaining years of his career to one new game and return to working on a small team.

In an interview, the Tekken creator said his decision to leave Bandai Namco at 55 was not solely related to criticism of Tekken 8. As he approached 50, Harada began thinking about how to spend the final ten years of his career. In Japan, the standard retirement age is around 60.

We used to release one game a year, but now it can take five years to make one. When I turned 50, I realized I might only have time for one more game, so I wanted to try something new.

Harada grew tired of the corporate model and wants to work on a small team where decisions are made together. Namco founder Masaya Nakamura instilled that approach in him. The initial team of ten brought in specialists they knew, many of whom are over 45.

Harada acknowledges that VS Studio will have to compete with major publishers that have far greater marketing and sales resources. Another challenge is that players are finding it increasingly difficult to discover worthwhile indie games, even when small teams create genuinely high-quality projects.