On the stage of the 2024 Evo tournament in Las Vegas, Tekken 8 producer and director Katsuhiro Harada said that Heihachi Mishima would return to the series as a DLC fighter launching in the fall. Though Harada previously stated that Heihachi was dead, the leader of the Mishima clan was revealed in a fiery trailer that shocked Tekken 8 players worldwide.
As one of the main antagonists of the Tekken series, Heihachi Mishima is the father of Kazuya Mishima and grandfather of Jin Kazama. As the former lord of the Mishima Zaibatsu, a multinational company, Heihachi was instrumental in creating the King of Iron Fist martial arts tournaments, with ownership of the organization offered as the main prize to its victors. Though Heihachi was a protagonist in Tekken 2, his time as an antagonist spanned the majority of the franchise. In Tekken 7, Heihachi faced Kazuya for one last showdown atop an active volcano. After trading blows, Kazuya taps into his devilish powers to defeat his father and unceremoniously tosses Heihachi's body into the volcano.
Tekken 8's Director Katsuhiro Harada affirms the developers' stance regarding fan opinions that they dislike one of the game's characters.
Though Harada previously stated...
