AEW Fight Forever

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 in 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.[2][3]

AEW Fight Forever
Cover art featuring various AEW wrestlers
Developer(s)Yuke's
Publisher(s)THQ Nordic
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
ReleaseJune 27, 2023[1]
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

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.

Development

Several members of AEW management discussed plans for a video game ahead of AEW Dynamite's debut episode in October 2019.[6][7][8] The game was officially announced on November 10, 2020, at the AEW Games 1.0 Special Event.[9] The reveal trailer featured AEW wrestlers Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and Hikaru Shida.[10] Hideyuki "Geta" Iwashita, director of WWF No Mercy and WCW/nWo Revenge, was also announced as the director. 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.[11] 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 revealed to the live crowd that the title of the game would be AEW: Fight Forever.[12] This was formally announced on May 4, 2022, with the release of gameplay videos featuring Kris Statlander and Nyla Rose.[13][14] In June 2022, Omega stated in an interview with Fightful that the game was tentatively scheduled to release later that year.[15] Omega later confirmed that the game would be published by THQ Nordic.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18][19]

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.[20] 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.[21][22] On September 15, 2022, a demo was also playable at the Tokyo Game Show.[23]

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.[24] 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.[25]

On May 16, 2023, the achievements for the game were listed on Xbox platforms.[26] It was later discovered that players could force a pre-load on their console from the Xbox app.[27] On May 19, 2023, Fightful Select reported that the game was scheduled to be released two days following the Forbidden Door event on June 27, and that an official announcement would come in the following week.[28]

References
  1. "THQNordic Twitter Page". Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  2. Dinsdale, Ryan (May 5, 2022). "AEW Wrestling Game Gets an Official Title: AEW Fight Forever". IGN. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  3. Fanelli, Jason (May 4, 2022). "AEW Video Game Officially Called AEW Fight Forever, PC Version And Two New Wrestlers Confirmed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  4. "AEW: Fight Forever". store.playstation.com. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  5. "AEW: Fight Forever - Official Site". aew.thqnordic.com. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  6. "The Young Bucks confirm there are plans for an AEW videogame". PCGamesN. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  7. Cooper, Dalton (July 15, 2019). "AEW Video Game Teased by The Young Bucks". Game Rant. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  8. Coulson, Josh (September 2, 2019). "Kenny Omega Teases That An AEW Video Game Announcement Is Coming Soon". TheSportster. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  9. AEW Games 1.0 Special Event, retrieved July 3, 2022
  10. All Elite Wrestling: The Game - Official Teaser, retrieved July 3, 2022
  11. AEW Console Game – Development Update: Jungle Boy Reveal, retrieved July 3, 2022
  12. "All Elite Wrestling's New Game Is Named After A Crowd Chant And That's Too Sweet". Kotaku. April 21, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  13. AEW Fight Forever – Dev Update: Kris Statlander Reveal, retrieved July 3, 2022
  14. AEW Fight Forever – Dev Update: Nyla Rose Reveal, retrieved July 3, 2022
  15. "Kenny Omega Provides Update On AEW Fight Forever, Hopeful For 2022 Release | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  16. "Kenny Omega Confirms AEW: Fight Forever's Publisher | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  17. AEW: Fight Forever | Announcement Teaser, retrieved August 11, 2022
  18. Shirey, J Brodie (November 21, 2022). "AEW: Fight Forever Removes CM Punk From Game Cover After Suspension". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  19. Murray, Sean (November 20, 2022). "CM Punk Has Been Removed From AEW: Fight Forever's Cover Art". The Gamer. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  20. AEW: Fight Forever | Showcase Trailer 2022, retrieved August 16, 2022
  21. "AEW Fight Forever will be playable for the first time at Gamescom 2022". Shacknews. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  22. "AEW Fight Forever Wins Major Gamescom 2022 Award". WWE. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  23. "AEW Fight Forever Had A Big Display For Tokyo Game Show". Gameranx. September 18, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  24. "411MANIA". Tony Khan Says AEW Fight Forever Is Finished, Won’t Announce Release Date Yet. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  25. "THQ Nordic community manager denies claims that AEW Fight Forever is 'basically ready'". VGC. April 12, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  26. "AEW Fight Forever Xbox Achievements Leaked". Yahoo Entertainment. May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  27. Taylor-Hill, Grant (May 17, 2023). "AEW Fight Forever: Entire Game At Risk of Being Leaked, It's Claimed". Insider Gaming. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  28. "AEW Fight Forever Set For June 27 Release, Official Announcement Expected Next Week". Wrestling Inc. May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
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