Fighting game legend Harada said he couldn’t believe how dead Heihachi Mishima was, so Tekken 8 is resurrecting the big bad dad yet again

After being punched in the chest so hard that his heart stopped beating, Tekken 8 has resurrected Heihachi Mishima for yet another bout later this year as a DLC character.

Back when Tekken 8 was revealed last year, even series legend Katsuhiro Harada could hardly believe how dead Heihachi was. “Heihachi’s been dead so many times, you have to make sure it’s convincing this time,” Harada had told the developers of Tekken 7, hence why Heihachi gets punched to death and then thrown into a volcano by Kazuya.

Fast forward just over a year, and guess what: Heihachi is alive and returning to Tekken 8 as a DLC character later this year. The story of Tekken 8 really is far from over, as the announcement tweet from Bandai Namco below proclaims, especially if the ‘King of Iron Fist Resurrection’ is alive and kicking yet again, despite everything. 

The trailer above sets up Tekken 8’s storyline continuing in some big ways. The game’s two current DLC characters, Eddy Gordo and Lidia Sobieska, look to play big roles in the new story, as predictably will Reina, who comments that “it’s almost time,” in the trailer.

Heihachi’s resurrection comes off the back of Evo 2024, where Tekken 8 was one of the biggest draws of the fighting event. The action might be over now, but you can watch the Tekken 8 finals in the replay video below. We won’t spoil anything here, but it was nothing short of a stellar top-six.

Take a look at our best fighting games guide to see where Tekken games rank above our picks of the best to ever step into the ring.