Tekken 8 will see series bad guy Heihachi return as DLC this autumn

Heihachi Mishima, antagonist of the Tekken series, is set to make a return to the series in Tekken 8 this autumn.

Heihachi's reveal was announced at this year's Evo fighting game esports event in a new trailer, along with a new story mode chapter called The Dark Awakens.

He'll be the third DLC character added to the game since its release earlier this year, following Eddy Gordo and Lidia Sobieska.

TEKKEN 8 - Heihachi Mishima Trailer

The Dark Awakens story mode will be free for all Tekken 8 players, focused on the ongoing feud between the Kazama and Mishima families.

Heihachi debuted in the very first Tekken game and has featured in every game in the series since. He's therefore deeply connected to the story of Tekken, so it's no surprise to see him return as a playable character in Tekken 8.

Indeed, his presence is already felt in the story mode due to his connections to certain characters, where he appears in multiple flashbacks.

Iconic capoeira fighter Eddy Gordo was added to Tekken 8 in April, while Polish president Lidia Sobieska joins later this week along with a photo mode.

Also announced at Evo was the location of the 2024 Tekken World Tour Finals, which will take place in Tokyo in December.

Tekken 8 received extremely positive reviews when it launched in January. "Tekken 8 is a marked improvement over Tekken 7 and a perfectly executed balancing act, keeping older players happy while revealing its trademark freedom to newcomers," reads our Eurogamer Tekken 8 review.