Tekken 8’sclosed beta tests have been leakier than a sieve, as fans have beencracking them to play the game when they shouldn’t be, and datamining them to leak vital information, including yet to be revealed character inclusions. Another beta test is scheduled to take place later this month, but thanks to Bandai Namco pushing the pre-load update out nine days early, it’s already been cracked, and fans are playing the game over a week early.
Fans were tipped off to a potential crack thanks to all of the new gameplay footage circulating on the likes of Twitter and Reddit. Initially, it seemed as though Tekken 8 had suffered another major leak, but the discovery that Bandai Namco has pushed out the beta’s pre-load on Steam surprisingly early all but confirmed it was the work of crackers, who will now be able to get in a whole bunch of practice before everyone else invited to the beta gets to play.
Those that enjoy fighting games will know that getting in some early practice presents a bunch of people with an unfair advantage, especially during pre-release tournaments. Almost all fighting game fans have been in a practice mode of some kind to sharpen up their combos, and being able to practice a whole nine days longer than everyone else is going to make this upcoming beta test a little unfair in some matchups. If you get tossed around by a Hwoarang on day one, chances are you’ve come up against someone that’s played the cracked beta.
Bandai Namco and series director Katsuhiro Harada have warned people in the past that accessing Tekken 8 betas during the hours in which they’re not supposed to will result in punishment of some kind, but it seems like those warnings, andthe chance of Harada himself busting into streams to shout at players, haven’t been enough of a deterrent. With yet another crack to deal with, Bandai Namco may start to take punishing players a little more seriously.
Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long for the actual game to come out so we can dive in properly, as it was announced not too long ago that Tekken 8 will be launching on January 26 next year, wedged nicely next to other massive games like Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Persona 3 Reload. If you’re choosing not to try and get into the betas and you’re waiting until the full game’s release, you can check out our first impressions of Tekken 8 byreading our preview here.
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