Tekken Veteran Harada Wishes the Xbox Series S Didn't Exist

Katsuhiro Harada is known for not mincing words. This time, the Xbox Series S was in his crosshairs, and of all places, in front of a high-ranking Xbox representative. At the closing panel of the Console Game Developers Conference 2026 in Seoul, the former Tekken boss essentially said: He wished hardware like the Series S wouldn't even be released.

The panel took place on November 9th at the SKY31 Convention in the Lotte World Tower and featured a high-caliber lineup. Former PlayStation manager Shuhei Yoshida moderated, and on the podium were Shift-Up CTO DongKi Lee (Stellar Blade), Too-Kyo-Games head Kazutaka Kodaka (Danganronpa), Paweł Sasko from CD Projekt Red (Cyberpunk 2077), Ludeon head Tynan Sylvester (RimWorld), and Harada, who now leads the new VS Studio as CEO. The discussion initially focused on the advantages of console development. Harada first praised how much easier it is to set up 100 to 500 identical consoles for fighting game tournaments than the same number of identical PCs. Then came the jab.

What bothers Harada about the Xbox Series S?

According to Inven Global's English translation, Harada said he wanted to seize the opportunity while he had the floor – after all, a high-ranking Xbox representative was in the audience today. When Sasko, in response to a question about whether the Series S inwardly annoyed him, laughingly replied that the console constantly presented challenges to the team and forced them to optimize code very cleanly, Harada doubled down: That's just a very polite way of saying the Series S is annoying.

His core problem: While the limited memory is an issue, much more difficult is that the Series S is so similar to the Series X yet delivers “awkwardly lower performance.” With the Switch 2, developers could rethink their approach – that's a standalone device for Nintendo fans. With Xbox, however, it feels like after creating the best possible version, one still has to do “extra work for a slightly weaker child.” Additionally, in markets like the USA, there are more Series S users than Series X users, so one can't simply be sloppy. After launch, however, complaints about lower texture resolution on the Series S landed with developers instead of Microsoft.

Sasko defends the small Xbox

Sasko partially agreed with Harada: Players often don't understand the technical background, such as why there are fewer characters on screen or why graphics are scaled back. At the same time, rigorous optimization for weaker platforms ensures that a game runs significantly better everywhere – on PS5, high-end PCs, and handhelds like Steam Deck or ROG Ally. As an example, he cited version 2.5 of Cyberpunk 2077: Insights from the work on the Switch 2 launch title, which according to Sasko involved 80 to 100 people for over a year, flowed back into all other versions. The biggest advantage of the Series S, however, is its affordable price, which allows more players access.

Harada countered with a wink: Sasko had packaged the Series S so elegantly that the Microsoft representative in the room was constantly nodding. He already feared Xbox would release a “Helix S” next time. DongKi Lee ended the topic on a conciliatory note: He looked forward to the next Xbox generation, Helix, and hoped for dev kits in Korea as early as possible.

The Series S is not slowing things down for the first time

This frustration is not new. The most prominent example in 2023 was Baldur’s Gate 3: Larian couldn't get split-screen co-op to run properly on the Series S, and because Microsoft requires games to appear on both Series consoles, the Xbox version was delayed. In the end, Larian and Microsoft agreed to release the Series S version without split-screen – the mode was only added in January 2025 with the stress test for Patch 8. This is exactly the pattern Harada refers to: The extra work falls on the studio.

The timing is interesting. Xbox has already announced that Project Helix will be a whole family of devices. Whether it will again include a stripped-down entry-level model remains to be seen – Harada's wish has certainly reached Redmond. At the same time, it shows that the Series S as a minimum standard has long had an impact far beyond the console itself: Those who stream GTA 6 via Xbox Cloud Gaming on Xbox One will, according to Xbox, get the graphics settings of the Series S. Honestly, we understand both sides: For studios, the Series S is a hindrance, but for players on a tight budget, it is often the only way into the current generation.