Controversial Tekken 8 Change Rolled Back After Community Backlash
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- Tekken 8 developers walked back on the change that applies chip damage to players who broke throws after community backlash.
- Breaking throws in Tekken takes a good amount of skill, and being punished for that did not sit well with the players.
- Tekken 8 won the Best Fighting Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024 and the 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.
A change that was supposed to be applied in the second season of Tekken 8 was canceled due to community backlash. The change involved losing health after successfully performing a throw break.
On March 29, a Season 2 balance adjustment overview note was released. In it, the developers have mentioned that due to community backlash, they’re removing chip damage from successfully breaking a throw. “It was concluded that imposing a disadvantage on the defender for executing a successful throw break would be excessive, as throw breaking is a high-skill mechanic that reflects a player’s practice and proficiency.”
For context, to break a throw in Tekken, the player must press the correct button. It’s either the left punch button, the right punch button, or both. If they press the wrong button, the throw will proceed, and they will take damage.
Breaking a throw takes skill, knowledge, and reactions. However, since Tekken 8 developers added chip damage after properly breaking a throw, the risk and reward between the attacker and the defender is skewed towards the attacker. This change angered the Tekken 8 community as it felt like it was punishing the defender for being good at the game.
Tekken 8 was released in 2024 for the PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The game received a “universal acclaim” score on Metacritic. It also won the Best Fighting Game award at The Game Awards 2024 and the 28th Annual D.I.C.E Awards.
