Kohei “Nakatsu” Ikeda no longer serves as Game Director for Tekken 8. He has left Bandai Namco Entertainment, but will “continue taking on new challenges as a game developer.”
After 20 years working at Bandai Namco Entertainment, Kohei “Nakatsu” Ikeda has left the ship, five months after Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada’s departure. Ikeda served as game director for Tekken 7 and 8, and in a statement announcing his leave, he details his beginnings in the video game industry: “I remember first stepping into game development through Soulcalibur IV. Later, I was given the opportunity to work on the Tekken series. Being the game director for Tekken 7 and 8 gave him the opportunity to “connect with fans and members of the Fighting Game Community (FGC) from all around the world.”
He continues: “There were joyful moments, and many difficult ones as well. There were times when I received passionate criticism and encouragement. Yet every one of those moments helped push both myself and the Tekken project forward.”
By “passionate criticism”, Ikeda likely refers to Tekken 8’s balance patches, namely its season two update, which released April 1st, 2025, and had caused the game to get review-bombed on Steam. The changes brought by the update were so unpopular among players that Tekken 8’s balance team had allegedly been replaced following its poor reception: “8 was challenging in some aspects with a new team for battle & tuning, but we have returned the team structure to the members of the past. In addition, the director, Nakatsu, who we all know and love, is now able to check and approve all tuning in detail (he was short on time as general manager, but now he gives final approval for every detail of battles and tuning),” explains Harada on X.
Ikeda’s departure from Bandai Namco does not signify his retirement from game development all together, as the man himself says he will “continue taking on new challenges as a game developer.” He could possibly join his friend and former colleague Katsuhiro Harada in the future, who now acts as the representative of fighting game developer SNK’s new subsidiary, VS Studio. As for Tekken 8, interest in the game seems to have increased since the announcement of its future guest DLC character, Yujiro Hanma from the battle manga series Baki, an IP high on Tekken fans’ list of dream collaborations. He is set to release in early 2027.