The “Scarlet Lightning” Anna Williams is returning to Tekken 8 this March! Bandai Namco America divulged this information in the latest Tekken Talk Live event, alongside plans for ranked match adjustments, details on the 2025 Tekken World Tour tournament, and the roadmap for the upcoming Season 2 DLC releases. This announcement came alongside a new gameplay trailer for the sassy assassin that you can watch on YouTube or right here:
Anna sports a much more stylish and dramatic fighting style than her more no-nonsense sister Nina, and there’s no greater example of this than her choice of weapon. In one of the greatest examples of “not screwing around” in Tekken history, Anna comes to the fight packing an entire bazooka that she manages to elegantly bash her opponents over the head with before blowing them away with the business end.
Anna is set to officially release to the game on April 3, 2025, but Season 2 Character & Stage Pass and Season 2 Character Pass holders will be rewarded with a 72-hour early access period, so Tekken 8 players can expect to see her gracing the arena as early as March 31!
The Season 2 roadmap reveals the basic overall plan for upcoming additions to the game, including the expected new characters every season, as well as two new stages, one to be released this summer, and the second to come out in winter. Apart from some rumblings about an all-new character in the wings, additional details on characters past Anna are scarce at the moment, but after dropping a bombshell like Final Fantasy XVI’s Clive Rosfield last season, anything could be on the table!
Additional news from the Tekken Talk included updates on ranked matches, including a leaderboard reset, the removal of the “Tekken Power” matching system, and the inclusion of eight new high tier ranks for players to aspire to.
Finally, the Tekken World Tour 2025 will be kicking off this year at EVO Japan in May! More details can be found at the World Tour website.
With all this to look forward to, this next year of Tekken 8 is shaking up to be an explosive one! If you’re hungry for more info, you can check out the VOD of the entire Tekken Talk Live right here.
