Chances are high that if you've ever doom-scrolled on social media, you've come across a fight thread. Chances are also high that about half of those fights took place inside a Waffle House and that the majority of the time, waitresses or cooks were involved.
Over time, social media fight posts and Waffle House have become intertwined to such a degree that Tekken 8 fans began creating concept art of what a Waffle House fight stage might look like.
It seems all the jokes and memes reached all the way to Japan and caught the attention of game director Katsuhiro Harada.
Responding on X/Twitter to fan requests for a Waffle House fighting stage, Harada replied, "Over the past year or more, I've actually tried to make contact through several different channels. However, and this is purely my own speculation, I suspect that the lack of response may be due to the fact that the project I'm known for revolves around "fighting-themed video games (by the way, no response = very rare case)."
"That said, if—like I suggested earlier—using a different name or format is acceptable as long as the core message is maintained, then I would be willing to seriously reconsider and explore this again."
To be honest, within the bounds of what I can say, I fully understand your (you guys) request—that's precisely why I had considered taking on this challenge. In fact, I had already been thinking about it quite a while ago.
— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) May 13, 2025
Over the past year or more, I've actually tried to make… https://t.co/Sa5oSpk2IZ
As you can see, Harada actually reached out to the breakfast diner chain to see if they would be interested in a collaboration but he didn't receive a response.
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In a follow-up to another question about Waffle House, Harada stated that if Bandai Namco can't acquire the license to use the diner's name, he's open to creating a parody.
If we can't get that “House” name license, how about we call it “Hustle House” stage?
— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) May 13, 2025
Doesn't that make sense to everyone? https://t.co/OLJeLshGet
Tekken 8 is a multiplatform fighting game released on January 26, 2024 for the PS 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. The game continues to receive support in the way of balance patching and DLC additions to the game's fighter roster.
In February 2025, Bandai Namco announced that the game had surpassed 3 million copies sold since its release.
The next DLC character for Tekken 8 is Fahkumram, a Muay Thai fighter who originally appeared in Tekken 7. He is set to be released as part of the Version 2.03 update, expected in summer 2025. However, an exact release date has not yet been confirmed.
