Tekken 8 was revealed last year at Sony’s September State of Play, and Bandai Namco has been drip-feeding new info to fans since then in the form of character trailers. The latest of these is for Hwoarang, the Taekwondo student who made his debut in Tekken 3. Since then, Hwoarang has appeared in every Tekken game to date, making his inclusion not too surprising. That said, Jin Kazama’s friendly rival is a fan favorite, so it’s great to see him making an appearance in the latest game.
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The trailer shows Hwoarang using his signature fast feet and arrogant attitude to quickly take down the competition. That, of course, includes Jin who takes the brunt of Hwoarang’s attacks in this footage. If you were a fan of Hwoarang’s kick-dominant style in the past, it doesn’t look like much is changing. We also get to see him hopping on his motorcycle, confirming that Hwoarang is still one of the flashier dudes in the Tekken streets.
Unfortunately, we still don’t have any answers to the question on everyone’s mind: when is the Tekken 8 release date? Presumably, we won’t see the fighter until sometime in 2024 at this point, but that’s purely guessing. Bandai Namco has yet to give a concrete answer, leaving fans holding out hope for an announcement each time a new trailer drops. There was a press-only event in March for Tekken 8, which could suggest the release is closer than we might think, but again, that’s total speculation.
When it does release, Tekken 8 will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The roster will include not just Hwoarang and Jin Kazama, but also several other returning characters in King II, Marshall Law, Nina Williams, Kazuya Mishima, and several others. As always, there will also be a brand-new version of the robot Jack, this time dubbed Jack-8. With at least a few more months to go before it launches, that list will only grow, potentially revealing a few more brand-new characters for the series.
