How to unlock Tekken 7 characters: All DLC fighters to complete your roster

Marc Griffin
Geese, Akuma, and Heihachi in Tekken 7

Tekken 7 provides a diverse roster of 54 playable characters (including palette swaps). Here’s a guide to help you unlock all the characters in the game.

Tekken is one of the most well-known fighting games in the genre. Bandai Namco‘s arena fighter debuted in 1994 and has been a force ever since, helping usher a new fighter focusing on technical skill, movement, side-stepping, meticulous hand-to-hand combat, and a unique roster of characters. 

The latest installment to the acclaimed arena-fighter franchise doubles down on all of the qualities that made it legendary – including the roster. 

Tekken 7 boasts the most intriguing roster since the inception of the storied franchise, with guest appearances from SNK’s Geese Howard, Capcom’s Akuma, Image Comics’ Negan, and Square Enix’s Noctis Lucius Caelum. With the number of unique characters in Tekken 7, players are hungry to learn as many characters as possible to give them an edge on the battlefield. 

Combining the game’s offering of playable characters, we wanted to run down how to add more characters to your roster, so here’s how you unlock characters in Tekken 7. 


Contents


Kazuya and Heihachi in Tekken 7
Each character comes with their own unique move set and play style

How to unlock characters in Tekken 7

Players can unlock characters in Tekken 7 through paid DLC, transformations, and palette swaps.

Unfortunately, you can not unlock characters by beating the game’s story mode, so buying DLC is the only real way to unlock characters for Tekken 7.

What characters are a part of paid DLC?

Tekken 7 has 16 unlockable characters, with 14 of them being paid DLC as an option to add more characters to your roster. 

The paid DLC characters consist of the following: 

  • Lei
  • Noctis
  • Negan 
  • Geese
  • Eliza
  • Leroy
  • Lidia
  • Julia
  • Ganryu
  • Zafina 
  • Kunimitsu II
  • Fahkumram 
  • Anna Marduk 
  • Armor King II 

It’s important to note that Tekken players can unlock all the characters mentioned above by paying for them in the PlayStation Store, with Eliza being slightly different.

Tekken players could only get Eliza if they pre-ordered Tekken 7 before it was released or purchased her through the PS Store within 30 days from the game’s launch. As of the date we’re writing this article, there is no other way to get Eliza in Tekken 7. 

Kazuya and Jin Mishima in Tekken 7
Players will be able to do battle with over 50 characters

How to unlock characters through transformation and palette swap 

As mentioned above, Tekken players can only add characters to their rosters by purchasing paid DLC. However, players can “unlock” two other characters through an in-game transformation and palette swapping. 

  • Devil Kazuya: Devil Kazuya can’t be used from the start of the match and needs to be done during the match. To achieve this, players must select Kazuya Mishima, and then, during the match, press R1 on the PS4/5 and RB on Xbox/X|S to activate the Rage Art. Kazuya will then transform into Devil Kazuya. 
  • Violet: Violet is available through a palette swap of Lee Chaolan. To play as Violet, Tekken players must be player two and select Lee Chaolan. The player will then be able to play as Violet but only in aesthetic as the physicalities of the character remain Lee Chaolan.

So that’s how to unlock all of Tekken’s extensive character roster—You can find all of our Tekken coverage here.