'Tekken 7' Release Date: Bandai Namco Games Delays Launch to February 2015

Bandai Namco Games has delayed the release of the upcoming innovating fighting game, 'Tekken 7'. The game was supposed to launch around October of this year, but has since been pushed back to a February 2015 release in Japan.

News regarding 'Tekken 7' was first published during the Evolution Championship Series 2014. At that time, Bandai Namco Games boasted that in addition to its routine arcade release, 'Tekken 7' would also be releasing on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Japan.

Moreover, the new 'Tekken' title will make the most of Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 - something that 'Tekken 7' game director Katsuhiro Harada is very proud of.

Harada recently remarked, "Not only is Unreal Engine 4 (is) powerful and easy to use, but it also allows us to bring Tekken 7 to any platform we desire."

The latest installment will shy away from the Tekken Tag Tournament premise because Harada and his team have been concentrating on preseriving the "true essence" of the game.

JBG News reports that the developer and publisher were both busy location testing with players throughout the entire country in early September, with a view to test the new gameplay mechanics as well as the arcade netplay system.

This helped to establish "Rage Arts" (which starts when one's characer has low health) and "Power Crushes" (enter a character's block undisturbed). The website further stated that the results were positive, as expected. Yet, Bandai Namco Games wants to put in more work with a view to make the game perfect.

Meanwhile, it has been learned that 'Tekken 7' will bring in a fresh set of playable characters. One among them is a female Savate-skilled chatterbox named Catalina (Katarina), the other is a male character named Claudio.

Shoryuken reports that now players will also be able to combat as returning fighters, including Alisa Bosconovitch, Ling Xiaoyu, Marshall Law, Paul Phoenix, Feng Wei, Heihachi Mishima, Hwoarang, Asuka Kazama, Bryan Fury, Kazuya Mishima/Devil Kazuya, King, Lars Alexandersson, Leo, Lili, Sergei Dragunov and Steve Fox.

A trailer released by Bandai Namco Games together with the early announcement offers more detail regarding the Heihachi, Kazuya, and Jin Kazama. It is expected that the story will eventually bring the long-running Mishima family warfare to an end.