People Want Tifa in Tekken 8 So Much the Boss of Tekken Had to Address It

Tekken 8 is out now and already the requests for guest characters are piling up online. But one character appears to be top of the wishlist: Tifa from Final Fantasy 7.

A cursory glance at social media shows plenty of requests for Bandai Namco to add Tifa into Tekken 8. That’s not surprising — Tekken fans have long-called for Tifa to be added to Tekken games over the years. Tekken is (mostly) and punch and kick fighting game franchise, and Tifa is all about punching and kicking. She’d be a great fit as a guest character, and everyone knows it.

Here’s a snippet:

Dear @SquareEnix & @Harada_TEKKEN,

Please can we get Tifa in Tekken 8. She would be perfect! 🐬👢👊#TifaforTekken #TEKKEN8 pic.twitter.com/S6guFJwNWH

— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) January 26, 2024

Been playing Tekken 8 for past couple hours and its so much fun.

I’m once again asking for Tifa to be in this game. She is literally the perfect collab character. pic.twitter.com/QYg2GfcxZx

— Maku (@TropicalMaku) January 26, 2024

Need Tifa in Tekken 8 so bad pic.twitter.com/mjeaM42OqQ

— 👽🛸 (@twbrown_writes) January 26, 2024

Tifa in tekken 8 please harada-san ❤️ i know the rule that we dont ask for … but this is an exception ❤️ pic.twitter.com/C1yGtn0Buq

— Waleed Alsultan (@alsultan_waleed) January 25, 2024

Please, please bring Tifa as a DLC for Tekken 8🥊 pic.twitter.com/FvFk2Ly4V4

— ⋆☾ 𝓣𝓲𝓯𝓪 𝓒𝓪𝓮𝓵𝓾𝓶 ☽⋆ (@Tifa_Caelum) January 25, 2024

This time, though, Katsuhiro Harada, boss of all things Tekken, has addressed the requests with a tweet that on the one hand gets to the crux of the matter, and on the other keeps fans hanging.

“We all know she is attractive and I understand that,” Harada tweeted. “But as yet we have not decided anything about guest characters etc.”

We all know she is attractive and I understand that.
But as yet we have not decided anything about guest characters etc. https://t.co/dkuMm1pnGG

— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) January 26, 2024

So, Harada-san, what you’re saying is there’s a chance? Tekken has a history of pulling in famous characters from other companies’ characters, including Akuma from Street Fighter and, indeed, Noctis from Final Fantasy 15. With this in mind, Tifa does not feel like much of a stretch.

We’ll have to wait and see, of course. The only confirmed DLC character for Tekken 8 is Eddy, although more will be revealed over the coming months. Perhaps at some point Tifa fans will get their wish.

In the meantime, check out IGN’s Tekken 8 review, and, if you’re playing, IGN’s Tekken 8 guide hub.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.