Tekken 8 is somehow already 10 months old, and its consistent updates likely won’t be slowing down any time soon.
Bandai Namco is set to run some server maintenance tonight in Tekken while also handing out a new wave of bans to cheaters and rule breakers.
According to their official post, Tekken 8 is set to undergo maintenance starting at 9 p.m. PT / 12 a.m. ET on November 19 and last through around 10 p.m. / 1 a.m. ET.
#TEKKEN8 server maintenance will take place on Nov. 19, from 21:00 – 22:00 PDT | 06:00-07:00 CET | 14:00 – 15:00 JST
Some online features may not be available during this maintenance.
Thank you for your patience, Fighters.— TEKKEN (@TEKKEN) November 19, 2024
During this time, Bamco notes some but not necessarily all online features will remain unavailable.
It is not stated what this maintenance is for, and there’s no in-game notification for it either.
Considering the Tekken Shop has already been updated with new items like Zafina’s Tekken 6 legacy costume, however, there is a chance the announcement included a typo for the date and was already complete on November 18 instead.
New items are now available in the #TEKKEN Shop!
Zafina’s #TEKKEN6 Legacy Costume
Bunny-Ears Dancer Avatar 5-parts CostumeCheck out the in-game Shop for more details pic.twitter.com/IrkA0EOEfc
— TEKKEN (@TEKKEN) November 19, 2024
Along with the items, the developers announced a new wave of account bans for players involved with “malicious and unauthorized activities.”
Those are currently being highlighted as cheaters, those who intentionally disconnect / rage quitters and those who use inappropriate names, customizations and messages.
Bans aren’t typically handed out for one-time offenses according to the developer noting these individuals have repeatedly broken the rules / received multiple in-game reports.
This certainly isn’t the first time Bamco has handed down the ban hammer either in Tekken 8.
Affected users have repeatedly violated the End User License Agreement (EULA) after receiving multiple in-game reports.
We plan to continue account suspensions against #TEKKEN8 players who break these game rules.
Expect further updates as we continue to monitor player behaviour.— TEKKEN (@TEKKEN) November 19, 2024
As far back as February, Producer Michael Murray warned that repeat pluggers / rage quitters could face permanent bans from online play with the issue plaguing the first few months of the game’s life.
Director Katsuhiro Harada also previously discussed some of the legal issues in banning players by making sure they adhere to the pertinent laws in all available countries.
Since then, Tekken 8 has pushed out multiple waves of violation bans both temporary and permanent as well as additional anti-cheat measures, but there’s obviously more work to be done — even though the cheaters will likely never fully go away.
The use of cheats and scripts is something that fighting games (and competitive games as a whole) are continuing to try to grapple with in this always online age, and those willing to break the rules will attempt to find new ways to slip through the cracks even if temporarily.
In Street Fighter 6, one alleged cheater was caught competing in a Capcom Pro Tour sanctioned event a while back.
But it’s at least nice to know that Bandai Namco isn’t just backing off and calling it a day after the first few waves of bans for Tekken.