Katsuhiro Harada worked for over 40 years at Bandai Namco, becoming one of the company’s most significant figures. He didn’t just exclusively contribute to the evolution of Tekken, but also to several other projects like Pokken Tournament and the SoulCalibur series. With how much Harada accomplished, the moment felt right for him to retire from Bandai Namco.
He presented his final letter to the community, which mentions his previous experience and his upcoming leave at the end of 2025. Bandai Namco did invite him to appear at TEKKEN World Tour 2025 Global Finals, which will take place on January 31, 2026, and February 1, 2026, in Cologne, Germany. He accepted the invitation as a special guest to witness the preliminary rounds and the final tournament. While he will retire, his legacy will live on as the Tekken series develops in a new vision after its 30th anniversary.
Harada also mentioned his passion to participate in a tournament as a DJ. Since he never completed his dream, he released a TEKKEN DJ-style nonstop mix (DJ mix) on SoundCloud for the community. He seems to have more plans for his life’s next chapter, which he will explain more in the future.
Bandai Namco has confirmed that no significant change will occur from Harada’s leave. Selected coworkers were already completing some of Harada’s responsibilities in recent years to prepare for his leave. The company will continue its planned operations for current projects, including Tekken 8.
“We will uphold the spirit of dialogue with the community that Mr. Harada valued and continue to make unwavering efforts to deliver even better content. The team will inherit the passion and spirit of challenging new things that Mr. Harada embodied, and together, we will continue to create a new history for the “TEKKEN” series for the global community.”
