We have reason to believe that Tekken 7 is coming to PC. We’re basing this on a recent rumor, but some info from Katsuhiro Harada himself.
I'm ancient steam user hehhehe, I'll consider about that RT @kapaoablir Can you release Tekken to PC through Steam? 😀
— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) November 4, 2013
To start, let’s roll back the clock to last November. Harada fields questions on Twitter a lot of the time, and someone casually asked him about bringing Tekken games to PC. He explained that he would consider it, but made no promises.
Don't rush me.
Tekken is not development by PC base. It's Develop by Playstation Native. also we don't have … http://t.co/ZZr42c5hRr
— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) February 15, 2014
I said I'm high-end PC gamer and ancient Steam user million times.
Stop asking "Waaaa! PC PC Waa mama!!". Play PAYDAY2 or sleep well kids!
— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) February 15, 2014
He was asked about it again this February, and this time his answer is more blunt. Harada reveals that Tekken has historically been developed natively for Playstation. Furthermore, he states that the market for Tekken players on PC does not exist. In a quick follow up, Harada pointed out he is not only an avid PC player, but an old Steam user, so he made these statements without prejudice to PC gamers.
So, fast forwarding to the game reveal. The official press release from Namco talks up use of Unreal Engine 4. Harada talks about how easy it is to use the engine, and makes it easy for the Tekken dev team to release the game sooner rather than later. Namco is also working with Epic Games in Japan, and their studio head Taka Kawasaki was enthusiastic about the collaboration. Although they never mentioned it, the collaboration between Epic and Namco indicated that Tekken moved away from native Playstation development.
Finally, here and now, we have news that Amazon UK actually has a listing for Tekken 7 on PC. This is hardly a confirmation, however, this listing would only be put up if the people at Amazon believe or already know that the game is coming to the platform.
Harada, and possibly his dev team, seems to have shown a change of heart regarding bringing Tekken to PC. If you’re an avid Tekken fan like me, I am willing to be that you are also excited about this change. Now, as to whether the game will see an arcade release is another thing entirely, but hey, Ultra Street Fighter 4 did not skip it, so why should Tekken 7?
Stay tuned to Gameranx for more news on Tekken 7. In the meantime, you can watch the official reveal trailer below.
