Skip to main content

New fighters, stages hit Tekken Tag Tournament 2 on October 9 for free

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - Sebastian
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada loves Twitter. In the past 24 hours alone the man has tweeted 42 times, but more important than the volume of words is what he’s been telling us. Specifically, this gem from last night:

We will update TTT2 on October 9. Adds some characters & stages, enhancement of an on-line function & customization feature are included.

Recommended Videos

While Harada’s words are light on details, they do coincide with this new Famitsu report which claims that starting October 9 Namco Bandai will begin rolling out new characters and stages for its latest fighter. The Japanese gaming magazine claims that these additions will be made available over a specific, yet currently unknown amount of time, but that additions would include classic Tekken characters like Violet and Unknown, and a number of bizarre “joke” characters like Tekken 3’s Dr. Boskonovitch, a slim version of Bob and Lili’s butler Sebastian who, until now, has only appeared in a single Tekken 6 cinematic cut scene. In sum this will bring the Tekken Tag Tournament 2 roster to 59 total characters, and it will include every fighter to ever appear in a Tekken game, with the exception of Tekken 3’s hidden dinosaur Gon (who is likely off-limits due to IP rights issues).

Additionally, Famitsu lists four new stages coming to the game dubbed “Russia,” “Chile,” “Saudi Arabia,” and, bizarrely, “magic show.” While Harada has long promised that any additional DLC characters for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 would be available free of charge, Famitsu claims that these stages will also be totally gratis.

Intriguingly — especially for anyone who has repeatedly tried and failed to beat Tekken Tag Tournament 2’s Arcade Mode thanks to its crazy-hard final boss — those miscellaneous balance changes Harada alluded to also seem to extend to the single-player portion of the game. When informed by one of his Twitter followers that he was unable to finish Arcade Mode, even on its easiest setting, due to the aforementioned boss, Harada replied simply, “We will fix that.” Whether that’s just idle talk or not remains to be seen, but if anyone has the power to change something like that it would be Katsuhiro Harada, and we’ve heard enough complaints about the final boss since publishing our review that we’re sure he’s well aware of the issue.

Earnest Cavalli
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…
3 games leaving Xbox Game Pass you should play this weekend (December 20-22)
A custom car built drives around Lego 2K Drive.

No more new games are coming to Xbox Game Pass for the rest of 2024. In fact, the service is going to lose some games at the end of the month. All of the games leaving the service on December 31 are very entertaining, and the lineup encompasses wacky racing games, hardcore strategy games about the history of humanity, and goofy fighting games where players control cute animals. These games are worth checking out this weekend as they're leaving Microsoft's gaming subscription service very soon.
Lego 2K Drive
LEGO 2K Drive | Awesome Reveal Trailer | Coming May 19

Racing games are some of the most approachable ones out there, so it makes sense that the genre would be a perfect fit for a Lego game. Visual Concepts and 2K went a step further than they had to with Lego 2K Drive, though, adding large open areas full of missions and minigames to experience. Lego 2K Drive is a light and breezy arcade-like racer that doesn't ask too much from players unless they want to spend a lot of time building vehicles piece by piece. After this game leaves the service at the end of the month, Forza Horizon 5 will be your only option when it comes to open-world racing games on Xbox Game Pass.

Read more
3 new PS Plus games that you should play this weekend (December 20-22)
Frey in Square Enix's Forspoken.

The latest batch of new PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium game catalog additions was released this week. As a result, PS Plus subscribers have a ton of new options when it comes to what to play as we approach what is many people's holiday break. Games from this most recent batch are what I'm recommending people check out this weekend. One of the titles is technically a Christmas game, so it's fitting to play this time of year, while my other recommendations are good options if you're looking for something to play with others.
Forspoken
Forspoken - Official Launch Trailer

Square Enix's Forspoken is a high-profile action RPG console exclusive that was released on PlayStation 5 in 2023. While its quip-heavy dialogue definitely isn't for everyone, the way it incorporates the player's magical abilities into combat and traversal is truly exhilarating. Dashing through large fields, surfing on top of water, and launching bullet-like streams of rocks at enemies is immensely satisfying. Forspoken's Isekai adventure technically begins with the main character, Frey, being whisked away from New York City around Christmas. That technically makes this a Christmas game, giving you all the more reason to check it out this weekend.

Read more
We might get a new Steam Deck next month — and Valve isn’t making it
The Steam Deck OLED on a pink background.

I suspected to see some new handheld gaming PCs this year at CES, but it looks like something even more exciting is in store. AMD and Lenovo are hosting an event during the week of the show, and it'll have two special guests in attendance: Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais and Microsoft's Jason Ronald.

I'll be attending the event on January 7, about which Sean Hollister over at The Verge initially shared out the details. There are a couple of reasons why this event could be significant. First, Valve. Since the launch of the Asus ROG Ally, there have been a handful of these types of events featuring spokespeople from AMD, Microsoft, and the company making a handheld -- Lenovo or Asus. Valve hasn't ever been in attendance, and considering Valve makes the Linux-based Steam Deck, it would be odd for the company to have a presence.

Read more