The official Bandai Namco Esports X account recently posted footage of last weekend’s Community Effort Orlando (CEO) 2025 fighting game tournament, in which Tekken 8 pro Atif “Atif Butt” Ijaz bested a player with a single move. The post gathered negative attention from some Tekken fans, and in response, series producer Katsuhiro Harada commented that the post was “unacceptable,” suggesting that he would be talking to both management about what is posted online and the development team about improving the state of Tekken 8.
The move that Atif spams involves his character, Anna Williams, jumping into the air and firing a missile downwards. Despite the move being a telegraphed mid-height attack and easily sidestepped, his opponent (who plays Asuka Kazama) cannot close the distance without getting tagged. There are numerous references to the infamous video of fighting game professional Justin Wong defeating a younger opponent in Mortal Kombat X in a similar manner, with Bandai Namco’s post including Wong’s “WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD! YOU’RE GONNA LEARN TODAY!” lines (Wong himself commented on the post).
Katsuhiro Harada: I agree with you. This is unacceptable. I will let management know, and we will continue to improve the game too.
Harada’s comment is a response to a fan saying they are disgusted that the footage was posted on the official Bandai Namco Esports X account. After seeing how “cheesy” some of the moves in Tekken 8 are, they seem to have lost interest in the game.
There are no rules against spamming moves in fighting game tournaments, and the footage posted by Bandai Namco shows that it is possible to win in this manner. While Atif is a professional Tekken player and was up against an unsponsored, relatively unknown opponent (Atif would go on to win first place in the tournament), this doesn’t invalidate what many regard as a low point in Tekken 8’s lifespan. At the very least, Bandai Namco’s post seems to have spurred Harada to do better with the coming updates.
Tekken 8 is available for the PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
