"I felt this was the most fitting moment to bring one chapter to a close."
Tekken boss Katsuhrio Harada has taken to social media to announce that he will be departing Bandai Namco at the end of the year.
“I’d like to share that I’ll be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025,” he wrote in a lengthy post on Twitter.
“With the Tekken series reaching its 30th anniversary—an important milestone for a project I’ve devoted much of my life to—I felt this was the most fitting moment to bring one chapter to a close.”
Harada has been involved with Tekken since its inception in 1994, voicing Marshall Law, Yoshimitsu, and Kunimitsu in the original game. He moved up the ranks to direct Tekken 3 in 1997 (still voicing Yoshimitsu). Eventually, Harada headed all of Bandai Namco’s esports division in 2019 and also became a general manager of the company.
In addition to his work on Tekken, Harada has served in many development and marketing positions on titles including Ace Combat Infinity, Dark Souls 3, Tales of Arise, and many more.
The quirky developer also celebrated his journey with Tekken through “Tekken: A 30-Year Journey – Harada’s Final Mix,” which is available now on Soundcloud. Go have a listen!
Harada also pointed out he will be in attendance at the TWT Finals, taking place at the end of January 2026, as “a guest”.
Our best goes out to Harada, either in retirement, or whatever else comes next. A break, for example, has been well deserved.
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