Tekken 8s Season 2 Patch Sparks Outrage: Is It the Worst Update in Series History?

On April 1, the second season of Tekken 8 kicked off, accompanied by a significant update, patch 2.0. In this update, the developers exhibited unprecedented generosity by buffing various characters, encouraging a more aggressive combat style. However, the community reacted negatively, viewing this move as a poorly timed April Fools’ joke.

In a statement, Bandai Namco mentioned that their balancing adjustments were based on user feedback and requests. Yet, frustrated gamers assert that they were hoping for completely different changes, such as enhancements to defensive capabilities and a nerf to the Heat system.

“I believe this is the first update for Tekken that no one is happy about. I haven’t seen a single positive comment,” said a content creator in a video discussing the situation.

Dreamboum on ResetEra

As noted by professional Tekken player JoKa, following the update, the eighth installment feels less like a Tekken game. He criticized the decision to empower already strong characters, claiming that some new moves are nearly impossible to counter, and the damage from combos has become excessive. Although he acknowledged that character movement has seen some improvement, he questioned, “What does that matter when there are moves with insane ranges?” He concluded his post with the words, *“And what about the promised defensive options?”*

In their disappointment, users have begun leaving negative comments on Tekken posts, posting critical messages, and even deliberately downgrading the game’s rating. In Steam, there has been a noticeable increase in «thumbs down» votes—over a thousand negative reviews have been submitted in just a couple of days.

Here are a few recent reviews related to the new patch:

AlwaLu, “thumbs down”

Biogumus, “thumbs down”

Squidward69, “thumbs down”

The community hopes that Bandai Namco will take notice of the situation and respond accordingly. Some even express a hope that the patch will be rolled back entirely.