Bandai Namco has revealed that Tekken 8 will have a bigger story mode than the previous title, Tekken 7.

Tekken 8’s story mode will be bigger than the one seen in Tekken 7. At least, that’s what Bandai Namco claims. Fighting games are coming off a strong year this year. NetherRealm Studios’ Mortal Kombat 1 arrives in September. Bandai Namco will be stepping into the ring with Tekken 8, due out in early 2024, which is also being preceded by much anticipation.

Tekken 8’s story follows the conclusion of Tekken 7, where Kazuya Mishima defeated Heihachi Mishima once and for all; the only remaining member of the Mishima bloodline is Kazuya’s son, Jin Kazuma.

This game seems to set the stage for a fatal showdown between father and son. Even Jin’s long-lost mother, Jun Kazuma, is involved somehow. For those fans who feared that the story mode would be like Tekken 7, Bandai Namco has clarified that the story mode for Part 8 will be bigger than the previous instalment.

In an interview, Famitsu spoke with Tekken 8’s developer-producer and director Kohei Ikeda and marketing producer Naoya Yasuda. The two were asked about the game’s story mode. They both stated that due to the much larger budget for the game, the story mode of Episode 8 will be larger than that of Episode 7. Yasuda recalled that when they were informed about the budget for the story mode, he laughed at the number.

Ikeda is equally amazed at how much content has been created for the game’s story. Especially considering the character roster for Episode 8, which includes at least 32 different fighters. He noted that he had a hard time connecting them in his head.

However, he believes that fighting games are all about the magic of the characters, which is why he hopes the team was able to get the most out of each of them.

Tekken 7’s story mode included fourteen playable chapters. According to HowLongToBeat.com, this translates to roughly 3-4 hours of gameplay. Based on what we’ve seen so far of the story in Episode 8, it’s likely that fans will see a larger and more cinematic story mode. Including encounters with various Tekken fighters and a final fight between father and son. However, this will not be the only single-player content in the game. In addition to the usual Arcade mode, there will also be a unique Arcade Quest mode.

Source: Famitsu (via Noisy Pixel), HowLongToBeat.com