Tekken 8's unexpected introduction of paid cosmetics is splitting fans, while producer says players should 'update their thinking to the current environment of game development'

After a few weeks of a quiet microtransaction-less existence, Bandai Namco has revealed that a cash shop is in the works for Tekken 8. It'll sell things like classic character costumes, avatar skins and single-use cosmetic items, and the whole thing has fans' opinions pretty split right now.

The addition of a Tekken Shop was quietly revealed last week, as part of an announcement for a Tekken Talk intended to go into detail about the game's post-release roadmap. That livestream happened yesterday, and it gave us a better look at how the shop will work and how much we can expect to fork out for all this new customisation.

It'll be added in an update sometime in February or March, with new items being added to the shop once or twice a month. Translating for the livestream, Tekken 8 producer Michael Murray said it'll include «some iconic, legendary costumes» such as Jun's Tekken Tag Tournament 2 outfit and Jin's Tekken 4 hoodie getup. It looks like the costumes will cost around 400 Tekken Coins—the game's new premium currency—which Murray said should translate to "$3.99 USD roughly."

The one thing that isn't mentioned is how these Tekken Coins will be bundled. Take Street Fighter 6's paid costumes: The skins Capcom added back in December cost 300 Fighter Coins, which is around $6 each. Except you can't buy bundles of 300 Fighter Coins. The minimum is 250, meaning you'd have to spend around $10 just to secure one costume. I wouldn't be surprised if Tekken 8 takes a similar approach, meaning that the actual money required to procure cosmetics is higher.

Initial reaction to the Tekken Shop pre-livestream wasn't exactly stellar, something Murray and the Tekken 8 team seem to be aware of. «We hear some people have some kind of allergic reaction when they hear 'shop' etcetera, but it's more of trying to update the game and keep it fresh with new customisation items,» he said. Murray likened the intention to the ways the team tried to improve Tekken 7, adding «we're trying to