Efter tre årtier i spidsen for Tekken-serien har den 55-årige legende Katsuhiro Harada valgt at forlade Bandai Namco. I et opslag på sociale medier beskriver han beslutningen som afslutningen på et kapitel i hans liv - både personligt og professionelt - og fortæller, at den kom naturligt, efter at flere nære venner og tidligere kolleger enten er gået på pension eller gået bort.
Harada nævner også, at han rådførte sig med selveste Ken Kutaragi, "PlayStations far", som tilsyneladende gav ham sin fulde opbakning. Selvom Harada ikke har planer om at gå på pension endnu, har han allerede idéer til fremtidige projekter - noget han vil løfte sløret for, når tiden er inde.
Meddelelsen kommer ikke helt ud af det blå. Harada har gennem længere tid været åben omkring frustrationer over Bandai Namcos interne struktur, som både har udfordret Tekken-teamet og gjort ham mere indifferent og passiv, hvilket ifølge ham selv kun gjorde situationen værre.
I sin afskedshilsen takker han kolleger og venner og beskriver sin rejse med Tekken og Bandai Namco som lærerig og fyldt med oplevelser. Men han understreger også, at tidspunktet føles rigtigt, og at han nu må videre og kaste sig over noget nyt.
"I'd like to share that I'll be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025. 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. My roots lie in the days when I supported small local tournaments in Japanese arcades and in small halls and community centers overseas. I still remember carrying arcade cabinets by myself, encouraging people to "Please try TEKKEN," and directly facing the players right in front of me.
The conversations and atmosphere we shared in those places became the core of who I am as a developer and game creator. Even as the times changed, those experiences have remained at the center of my identity. And even after the tournament scene grew much larger, many of you continued to treat me like an old friend—challenging me at venues, inviting me out for drinks at bars. Those memories are also deeply precious to me. In recent years, I experienced the loss of several close friends in my personal life, and in my professional life I witnessed the retirement or passing of many senior colleagues whom I deeply respect. Those accumulated events made me reflect on the "time I have left as a creator."
During that period, I sought advice from Ken Kutaragi—whom I respect as though he were another father—and received invaluable encouragement and guidance. His words quietly supported me in making this decision. Over the past four to five years, I've gradually handed over all of my responsibilities, as well as the stories and worldbuilding I oversaw, to the team, bringing me to the present day. Looking back, I was fortunate to work on an extraordinary variety of projects—VR titles (such as Summer Lesson), Pokkén Tournament, the SoulCalibur series, and many others, both inside and outside the company.
Each project was full of new discoveries and learning, and every one of them became an irreplaceable experience for me. To everyone who has supported me, to communities around the world, and to all the colleagues who have walked alongside me for so many years, I offer my deepest gratitude. I'll share more about my next steps at a later date.
Thank you very much for everything"