"Tekken 7: Fated Retribution" may be pushed back even further than previously believed. According to a report from AM-Net (via Attack of the Fanboy), the game won't be releasing in Japanese arcades until July of this year. The deadline for arcades to send in their order is set for March 18.
Attack of the Fanboy points out that this indicates the arcade version of "Tekken 7: Fated Retribution" will be out in time for this year's Evolution Championship Series tournament or EVO, which is held in Las Vegas, Nevada on a yearly basis.
It is important to note that the memo posted on the original Japanese site states that it was edited and sent out to Japanese arcades as early as Feb. 19, indicating that the plan to delay the game has been in motion for some time already.
However, because the arcade version is being delayed to the summer, it is further speculated that the console version may be pushed back even further than expected. The report states that the PS4 and rumored Xbox One and PC versions may not see a release late this year, hinting that may instead be bumped to 2017.
Fans speculate that the arcade version will be the final iteration of "Tekken 7" as it will have all the DLC characters, patches and gameplay changes that have been released for Japanese arcades since the original's release last year. This may translate to the console version as well.
The PS4 version of "Tekken 7: Fated Retribution" will share all of these final changes and updates as well, similar to how the console versions of "Tekken 6" and "Tekken 5" were based on the final versions of their arcade counterparts.
While unconfirmed by Bandai Namco, there are speculations that delays may have been made due to the release window of "Tekken x Street Fighter," Bandai Namco's crossover with Capcom's popular fighting series. Capcom previously released their crossover, "Street Fighter x Tekken," back in 2012.
