It hasn’t even been a month since Fahkumram was announced as Tekken 8’s second season 2 DLC character, and Bandai Namco Entertainment is already pulling the curtain off the next challenger. After Fahkumram’s gameplay trailer showcased the massive Muay Thai fighter, the final seconds revealed the much-awaited Armor King.
Though some fans would have preferred Armor King as part of the base roster, many are still happy to see him in Tekken 8 as a DLC character. Unlike King, whose pro wrestling style is more focused on holds, Armor King’s pro wrestling is more offensive as it incorporates strikes inspired by karate and kickboxing. Armor King’s gameplay has yet to be revealed, but we can probably expect his fighting style to be reminiscent of his past iterations in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Tekken 6, and Tekken 7 (there may even be some references to his Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Tekken Revolution appearances).
Tekken 8 is one of the few fighting games that reveals its DLC characters piecemeal rather than at the start of the year or season (the latter practice has been adopted by other fighting games like Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear Strive, and even Mortal Kombat 1). While the piecemeal approach increases the hype for each character reveal, it can rub players (especially early season pass adopters) the wrong way when the roster doesn’t include the characters they were expecting. With the reveals of Anna Williams, Fahkumram, and now Armor King out of the way, the final Tekken 8 character is expected to be a new addition to the franchise.
Fahkumram arrives in Tekken 8 on July 7 PDT for Early Access adopters and July 10 PDT for everyone else. Armor King is set for an Autumn 2025 release. Tekken 8 is available for the PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
