Lead: Tekken 8 Roger Jr. now has a launch date: Bandai Namco says the boxing kangaroo arrives November 11 for Season 3 Pass owners and November 16 for everyone, while Baki’s Yujiro Hanma gets his next trailer on January 17, 2027.
What happened
Bandai Namco premiered a roughly four-minute gameplay trailer for Roger Jr. alongside Evo France 2026, and followed it with a developer breakdown on the official Tekken site on October 11. Roger Jr. is the third of four Season 3 DLC fighters for Tekken 8 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam, following Kunimitsu and Bob.
Season 3 Pass owners get early access on November 11, with the character opening to all players on November 16, according to Bandai Namco’s announcement as reported by Gematsu and IGN. Pixels in Orbit notes the early access date lands on November 12 in Europe and Asia, which reads as a time zone difference rather than a separate release.
Per the official Tekken site, this is the character’s first return since Tekken Tag Tournament 2, more than ten years ago. Most of the hits come from Roger Jr.’s mother, with the joey fighting from her pouch, and the kit leans on close-range stances such as Rocket Stance and Bobbin Dance plus command throws like Uluru Hurricane Bomb. The team also changed the mother’s necklace from “mom” to “mum” after feedback from Australian players.
The trailer ends with a short teaser of Yujiro Hanma, the guest fighter from Keisuke Itagaki’s Baki manga and anime, showing his in-game model for the first time. It promises a new Yujiro trailer at the Tekken World Tour 2026 Global Finals on January 17, 2027.
Why Tekken 8 Roger Jr. matters
Roger Jr. is fan service in the best sense. Kangaroo boxers have been a Tekken running joke since the 1990s, and bringing one back with a moon-smashing Rage Art tells longtime players the team is willing to be silly again after a run of serious story fighters. Bandai Namco also pitches Roger Jr. as beginner-friendly, which matters for a game that can feel punishing to new players.
For anime fans, though, the headline is Yujiro. Baki is one of the most stylized fighting manga ever drawn, with exaggerated muscle maps and that infamous demon-back pose, and translating Itagaki’s art into a realistic 3D fighter is a real test. IGN called the first look “just as uncanny as fans expected,” which is fair: early footage shows the team chasing the manga’s intensity rather than smoothing it out. Yujiro follows Final Fantasy XVI’s Clive Rosfield as a big outside guest, and he is the clearest anime crossover the series has done in years.
What we know vs what is rumored
- Confirmed: Roger Jr. early access November 11 for Season 3 Pass owners, full release November 16, per Bandai Namco via Gematsu and IGN.
- Confirmed: a new Yujiro Hanma trailer will debut at the Tekken World Tour 2026 Global Finals on January 17, 2027.
- Unconfirmed: Yujiro’s release date. Bandai Namco has not named one, and IGN’s guess that it could follow the January trailer is speculation.
- Unconfirmed: whether the January video will be a full gameplay trailer; Bandai Namco has only called it a new trailer.
What happens next
Roger Jr. unlocks for pass holders on November 11, with standalone purchase from November 16. After that, all eyes move to the Tekken World Tour Finals in January for Yujiro’s next trailer and, likely, a firmer launch window. The Season 3 Pass is listed at $34.99 and covers all four fighters plus additional content.
Sources: Tekken Official (Bandai Namco) — Roger Jr. Gameplay Trailer Released; Gematsu — Tekken 8 DLC character Roger Jr. launches November 11; IGN — Tekken 8 Yujiro Teaser Reveals Baki Rep’s In-Game Render; Pixels in Orbit — Tekken 8’s Roger Jr. Hops In on November 11