A new character for Bandai Namco’s upcoming installment in their popular fighting game franchise, Tekken 7, has been released in the form of Shaheen.
The news was announced on chief producer Katsuhiro Harada’s Twitter, who also took the time to mention that even more new characters are yet to be announced.
NEW CHARACTER for TEKKEN 7. "Shaheen" from Saudi Arabia. 鉄拳7新キャラ(のひとり）「シャヒーン（サウジアラビア）」公開。 We've more new characters. http://t.co/cPggBVY6hy
— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) January 1, 2025
Shaheen was first pitched to fans back in August, with a post to the games Facebook page, with Harada stating:
“If the Tekken fan community, especially those in the Middle Eastern area, end up liking this character, I would like to feature this character in the game. On the other hand, if this character is not received well by the Middle Eastern Tekken fan community members, there is a possibility that the character will be considerably changed or letting go of the idea of featuring this character in the game.”
The response was fairly positive, and has led to Shaheen featuring in the final game, with little change from his initial character designs. The Saudi Arabian character sports a flowing cape, a traditional keffiyeh headscarf and has been received with much less controversy than Lucky Chloe was back in December.
Harada also took the time to reply to a fan on Twitter who stated that they’re looking forward to seeing the story that Tekken 7 has to offer. He said that “it’s too dark… But stay tuned” spouting speculation from all angles of fan theory.
Luckily, we shouldn’t have too long to find out what exactly Bandai Namco have in store for us. Tekken 7 is set to be released in Japanese arcades this coming March, and while nothing official has been announced yet, we’re sure that console versions of the game won’t be too far behind.
