Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada says he wants to add a stage inspired by Waffle House but the US restaurant chain is ignoring his collaboration requests.
Last year Harada took to X to ask his followers why so many of them were asking him to add a Tekken stage set in a Waffle House.
Players replied by explaining that Waffle House has become something of a meme due to its numerous viral videos of fights taking place in its restaurants, sometimes involving staff.
One video in particular sees a customer throwing a chair at a worker, who is able to block it mid-air and throw it to the side, a move that led to numerous memes comparing it to a fighting game (Harada himself has commented on it, calling it “an excellent parry”).
Now, a year later, Harada has updated players on the situation (as spotted by Automaton), saying he’s been trying his best to contact Waffle House for a potential collaboration, but they aren’t replying to his requests.
“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,” Harada wrote.
“In fact, I had already been thinking about it quite a while ago. 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.”
If we can’t get that “House” name license, how about we call it “Hustle House” stage?
Doesn’t that make sense to everyone? https://t.co/OLJeLshGet— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) May 13, 2025
Harada suggested to players that a compromise could be found by creating a stage based on a restaurant similar to Waffle House but with a different name, such as Harada’s suggestion of Hustle House.
“If 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,” he explained.
Harada drew attention in February when he criticised a fan, and “people like them”, for complaining about a returning character’s updated appearance, after DLC fighter Anna Williams was revealed with a new red-tinted hairdo.
“You threaten to quit if she isn’t brought back, you complain the moment she is brought back,” Harada retorted. “You demand that she be reverted after she has been completely redesigned from scratch, including her model and framework. And if she actually were reverted, you’d just say, ‘that’s recycling’.
“Either way, your method of expressing your opinion and the content of your argument are entirely unconstructive, utterly pointless, and, above all, disrespectful to the other Anna fans who are genuinely looking forward to her.”
