Since its launch in late January, Tekken 8’s online modes have been plagued with cheaters. From something that isn’t the biggest offense (though is still very crappy to do to people) like rage quitting or “plugging” as it’s being called now to straight up boosting for points, there’s been a lot going on here to make the online ranked space volatile.
Bandai Namco has assured fans several times now that they are working on getting rid of these offenders, and it looks like their first real wave of cleansing has now finally happened. The official Japanese Tekken Twitter account sent out a few announcement tweets this morning letting players know that bans have been issued and that they are working on making the online Tekken 8 experience better.
While this situation with Tekken 8’s online play has been going on for nearly a couple of months now, it’s worth mentioning that the development team behind the game previously explained why bans have taken more time than some fans might have hoped. The process of going in and suspending someone from using the software is an intricate process, and Bandai Namco has to ensure that they are abiding by each country’s laws to avoid any potential lawsuits or issues from wrongful terminations.
All of that having been said, it appears that bans have now been handed out — some temporary and some indefinite. In their statement, Bandai Namco states that accounts involved in “malicious and unauthorized activities” have been suspended.
What constitutes such conduct includes intentional disconnects, cheating, and inappropriate character customizations and player names. Just this week, a new way of cheating that involves players modding customization items to make them enormous and obstruct the view of the fighter surfaced, to which Tekken 8 Director Katsuhiro Harada responded.
Based on the statement, it appears that this manner of cheating was also targeted in the bans.
You can read the Tekken team’s official statement on the bans below.
Account Suspensions
We’ve suspended accounts involved in malicious and unauthorized activities, with penalties ranging from temporary to indefinite bans for:
• Intentional disconnects
• Cheating, use of unauthorized mods or cracks
• Inappropriate customizations or player names
In March, we will implement additional measures to broaden our suspension efforts, specifically targeting users who violate the End User License Agreement (EULA) after receiving multiple in-game reports.
We will keep you updated as more information becomes available on this matter.
Account Suspensions (1/3)
We’ve suspended accounts involved in malicious and unauthorized activities, with penalties ranging from temporary to indefinite bans for:
Intentional disconnects
Cheating, use of unauthorized mods or cracks
Inappropriate customizations or player names https://t.co/9N03DwRLcI— 【公式】鉄拳8 ＠鉄拳プロジェクト (@TEKKEN_Project) March 15, 2024
Account Suspensions (3/3)
We will keep you updated as more information becomes available on this matter.
— 【公式】鉄拳8 ＠鉄拳プロジェクト (@TEKKEN_Project) March 15, 2024
It was also noted that more measures to “broaden suspension efforts” will be put into place this month. These measures will specifically target players who violate the End User License Agreement in Tekken 8.