Tekken 8 players are expressing frustration at the addition of a new ‘Tekken Fight Pass’

Tekken 8 players have been expressing their frustration at the addition of a new Tekken Fight Pass feature.

During a recent Tekken Talk stream (as spotted by MP1st), the game’s developers revealed that a Tekken Fight Pass is coming to the game.

According to the feature’s description, the Fight Pass will work like Battle Passes in live service games, in which “during the specified period, players can increase their level by completing daily and weekly missions in online matches, allowing them to obtain various items”.

As with most other games’ Battle Passes, the Tekken Fight Pass will have a free tier and a paid Premium tier, where “items are even more luxurious” and players can earn Tekken Coins to buy items in the Tekken Shop.

The announcement has angered some players, who feel that having already paid $70 for the base game, they’re now seeing other microtransactions being added post-launch.

Tekken 8 launched on January 26, and around a month later Bandai Namco then added microtransactions to the game, along with a Tekken Shop where items could be bought for real money.

According to YouTube user comments under the stream and numerous highly-upvoted posts on the Tekken subreddit, however, many players feel the latest addition of a Battle Pass is a step too far.

“Disappointed,” said YouTube user k3kskuchen. “Would have never bought the Collector’s Edition had I known that you guys would patch in a microtransactio shop AND Battle Passes. At least Street Fighter 6 had the decency to say this upfront. You should be ashamed.”

“I was annoyed about the Tekken Shop but got over it, but a Battle Pass?” added user shinyshinx789. “They’re treating this full priced game like it’s free. I can’t believe how low companies must go with microtransactions nowadays.”

On the Tekken subreddit, a thread titled “A F2P model in a full-price game is beyond scummy” has received nearly 1000 upvotes.

“I personally purchased / pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition believing I would get all the DLC content with the season pass,” its author Odd-Parking6571 wrote.

“They were dishonest and lied,” they then alleged. “They always knew there was going to be a Tekken Shop and Battle Pass but yet spoon-fed it to the community because they knew there would have been backlash if they told us from the beginning.”

On a separate thread about the Fight Pass, user IAmGrumpyMan wrote: “I love Tekken 8, but I also feel like we have been catfished. Adding all of this horrible FOMO crap after launch is scummy practice, and they are fully aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it this way.”

A third thread called “Regardless of pricing, you must admit WAITING to tell about MTX and Battle Pass is scummy” has received over 800 upvotes.

“Let’s be honest,” wrote user Virgilizartor, “the whole point was to avoid backlash at launch and shortly after. Which is exactly when the loyal fans of the series would buy the game.

“Even if people were still on the fence about it, most of them probably still bought it shortly after launch after hearing all the praise surrounding it. Once everyone was onboard, they finally revealed the true agenda. As much as I’d love for it to be a better explanation, it is the way it is.”

While the fighting game genre is enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment with Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 all releasing to critical acclaim (including five-star reviews on VGC), all three games have also been criticised for their post-release microtransactions.

A month after its release, Mortal Kombat 1 garnered controversy for the addition of a seasonal ‘Halloween fatality’ move, which cost players $12 to unlock.

Street Fighter 6, meanwhile, was criticised for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover event – which included new costumes, accessories, emotes, stamps and more – which cost around $100 to unlock everything.