Tekken 8 is getting a demo next week, finally offering a chance for everyone to try the game out

Tekken 8
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

So far, Tekken 8 has been limited to closed beta tests online or a handful of appearances at offline tournaments and gaming events. An easy opportunity for the masses to play hasn't presented itself, until now that is.

Bandai Namco is releasing a demo for the 3D fighter on PC, Xbox and PlayStation 5. It'll be hitting the latter almost straight away, on December 14, while those of us on PC and Xbox will have to wait until December 21 to join in on the action.

It's a demo focusing on a handful of the game's offline modes—the first chapter of story mode The Dark Awakens, Arcade Quest, Super Ghost Battle, offline versus and a peep at the game's gallery. There'll only be four playable characters: Jin, Kazuya, Nina, and Paul, with stages Urban Square (Evening), Yakushima and Sanctum available to play on. The demo will clock in at 28GB too, which is a little more generous than the full game's 100GB storage hog.

I was able to check out all these modes when I peeped the master build at the end of last month, and The Dark Awakens is definitely something you don't wanna miss. It's a significantly better kickstart to the story than Tekken 7, and offers a great blend of story and fighting. 

While it's a shame there are no online modes, the demo should offer a great teaser for what people can expect when the full game launches on January 26, 2024.

Mollie Taylor
Features Producer

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.