Katsuhiro Harada, a Game Director and Chief Producer at Bandai Namco who’s best known for his 31 years of work on Tekken, has announced that he’s leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025.
Harada-san took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce his leave in a heartwarming post. In it, Harada-san discusses his early days in the Tekken community, recalling how he worked with small local-level tournaments.
He wrote that those experiences on the frontlines with players shaped who he is as a developer, even as his role changed.
While Harada-san doesn’t necessarily point to any reasons for leaving, he does explain that several of his close friends, both personally and professionally, have passed away. This led to him thinking about the time he has left.
With the guidance of support of Ken Kutaragi, who’s best known as the father of PlayStation, Harada-san began the transition to step away. Over the past four/five years, he explains that he’s been handing over his responsibilities, stories, and worldbuilding projects he oversaw.
The Tekken Project Team also shared heartfelt gratitude to Harada-san and his time with the series. It also assured fans that the Tekken franchise is still going strong and plans to continue doing so.
Other than Tekken, Harada-san mentioned other games he was proud to have worked on, like Pokkén Tournament, the SoulCalibur series, and VR titles like Summer Lesson.
After thanking everyone who has supported him over the decades, Harada-san explained that he’ll share what’s in his future later.
However, what he did leave fans with was a Tekken DJ-style mixtape on SoundCloud titled Tekken: A 30-Year Journey – Harada’s Final Mix. Harada-san explained that he’s always wanted to DJ at a tournament even but never did, so he edited his own DJ mix (“for the first and last time,” he notes).
For more news on Tekken, check out Ulsan’s win at the Esports World Cup 2025 earlier this year and the latest released characters, Miary Zo and Armor King.
