2023 video game
2023 video game
AEW Fight Forever is an upcoming professional wrestling sports video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ Nordic. The game will be the debut title on home consoles and personal computers from American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is scheduled to be released on June 29, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.[2][3]
Gameplay
Fight Forever features arcade-style gameplay, with nine match types in the launch version. These include singles match, tag team match, ladder match, Casino Battle Royale, and Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch.[4] The game also features online play and intergender wrestling, the first Yuke's game since WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 to do so.[5]
The game features a full creation suite, including wrestlers, entrances, and arenas. A career mode will allow players to take their own created wrestler through the AEW schedule. Fight Forever will also feature a variety of mini-games. During November 10, 2020, at the AEW Games 1.0 Special Event, Kenny Omega confirmed that the game would be a spiritual successor to games like WWF No Mercy and Virtual Pro Wrestling, with gameplay in the style and veins as the AKI engine that ran those games.[6]
Development
Several members of AEW management expressed interest in an AEW video game ahead of AEW Dynamite's debut episode in October 2019.[7][8][9] The game was officially announced on November 10, 2020, at the AEW Games 1.0 Special Event.[10] Yuke's was announced as the developer, having previously worked on multiple games for both NJPW and WWE, as well as Rumble Roses for Konami.[11] It would be their first wrestling game since WWE 2K19 in 2018. The reveal trailer featured AEW wrestlers Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and Hikaru Shida.[12] Hideyuki "Geta" Iwashita, director of WWF No Mercy and WCW/nWo Revenge, was also announced as the director.
Later that month, Hiromi Furuta, senior producer at Yuke's, stated that WWF No Mercy was a key influence due to its popularity with fans of the genre, and that Fight Forever was not intended to rival the WWE 2K series.[13] In June 2021, the first in-development gameplay video was released, including the reveal of Darby Allin. In September, another short gameplay video featuring Jungle Boy was released.[14] In February 2022, Kenny Omega stated that the game would feature cross-platform play.
Following the April 21, 2022 taping of AEW Dynamite, AEW founder Tony Khan told the live crowd that the title of the game would be AEW: Fight Forever.[15] This was formally announced on May 4, 2022, with the release of gameplay videos featuring Kris Statlander and Nyla Rose.[16][17] In June 2022, Omega stated in an interview with Fightful that the game was tentatively scheduled to release later that year.[18] Omega later confirmed that the game would be published by THQ Nordic.[19] In December 2022, Evil Uno revealed to Fightful that the game would launch with over 50 playable characters, with new roster members and game modes being added as downloadable content over time, likening it to No Man's Sky.[20]
Release
The cover art for the game at the time of its announcement prominently featured
CM Punk.
On August 3, 2022, AEW and THQ Nordic released an official teaser for the game, along with the cover art featuring CM Punk, Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, and Jade Cargill.[21] However, following CM Punk's indefinite suspension following a backstage altercation at All Out, a new cover art without him was revealed in November, additionally featuring Sting, MJF, Orange Cassidy, Bryan Danielson, and "Hangman" Adam Page, alongside the wrestlers of the previous cover art.[22][23]
On August 12, 2022, a trailer at the THQ Nordic Digital Showcase featuring Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Tony Schiavone was revealed, with one-on-one gameplay, as well as a look at the different mini-games in Fight Forever.[24] It was also announced that a demo of the game would be playable at Gamescom, winning the award for Best Sports Game at the event.[25][26] On September 15, 2022, a demo was also playable at the Tokyo Game Show.[27]
In March 2023, at a press conference following the Revolution event, Tony Khan stated that Fight Forever was complete, and that they would announce a release date soon.[28] However, THQ Nordic community manager Per Hollenbo would clarify on his Twitter account that the game was not finished, and was still being prepared for release.[29]
On May 16, 2023, the achievements for the game were listed on Xbox platforms.[30] It was later discovered that players could force a pre-load on their console from the Xbox app.[31] On May 22, 2023, in a special video message from Kenny Omega, it was announced that Fight Forever would release internationally on June 29, 2023, with pre-orders and pre-loads officially commencing that same day.[32] The press release also confirmed an Elite Edition of the game, but did not specify the content that would be included.[33]
