''AEW Fight Forever'' is an upcoming professional wrestling

sports video game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport (s ...

developed by

Yuke's Yuke's Co. Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka. It was established on 26 February 1993 by Yukinori Taniguchi. The company is best known for developing the '' WWE'' video game series, based on the professional wrestling promot ...

and published by

THQ Nordic THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were r ...

. The game will be the debut title on home consoles and personal computers from American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

promotion

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, ...

(AEW). It is scheduled to be released in 2023 for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North A ...

, Microsoft Windows,

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020 ...

, and

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

Gameplay

''Fight Forever'' features arcade-style gameplay, with nine match types in the launch version. These include singles match,

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

Casino Battle Royale The Casino Battle Royale, with its tag team variant being the Casino Tag Team Royale, is a professional wrestling match utilized by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Both variations are modified rumble rules battle royals. The Casino Battle Royale featur ...

, and

Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

. The game also features

online play An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PCs, consoles and mobile devices, and s ...

and

intergender wrestling Intergender wrestling, also known as mixed wrestling, is a type of professional wrestling match between a man and a woman and may also refer to tag team matches with both men and women on each team. Intergender tag team matches are not to be confu ...

, the first Yuke's game since ''

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 ''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009'' (sometimes subtitled with ''featuring ECW'') is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and Xbox 360 video game ...

'' to do so. The game features a full creation suite, including wrestlers, movesets, 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 Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-time ...

confirmed that the game would be a spiritual successor to games like '' WWF No Mercy'' and ''

Virtual Pro Wrestling is a professional wrestling video game series developed by AKI Corporation and published by Asmik Ace exclusively in Japan. The series started in 1996 with the release of the first '' Virtual Pro Wrestling'' for the PlayStation. It was localized ...

'', with gameplay in the style and veins as the AKI engine that ran those games.

Development

The game was announced on November 10, 2020, at the AEW Games 1.0 Special Event. The reveal trailer featured AEW wrestlers Kenny Omega,

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...

, and

Hikaru Shida is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former and the longest-reigning AEW Women's World Champion. On February 25, 2021, she became the longest reig ...

. Hideyuki "Geta" Iwashita, director of ''WWF No Mercy'' and ''

WCW/nWo Revenge ''WCW/nWo Revenge'' is a professional wrestling video game released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 game console. It is the sequel to 1997's '' WCW vs. nWo: World Tour''. Like its predecessor, ''Revenge'' features AKI's proprietary grappling system ...

'', was also announced as the director. In June 2021, the first in-development gameplay video was released, including the reveal of

Darby Allin Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former and longest-reigning AEW TNT Champion. He is also known for his app ...

. In September, another short gameplay video featuring Jungle Boy was released. In February 2022, Kenny Omega stated that the game would feature

cross-platform play In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. It is ...

. Following the April 21, 2022 taping of ''

AEW Dynamite AEW or aew may refer to: * Airborne early warning Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama f ...

'', AEW founder

Tony Khan Antony Rafiq Khan (born October 10, 1982) is an American businessman, promoter, and sports executive. He is known for his involvement in American football, professional wrestling and soccer. He is best known as the founder and co-owner of All ...

told the live crowd that the title of the video game would be ''AEW: Fight Forever''. This was later confirmed on May 4, 2022, with the release of gameplay videos featuring

Kris Statlander Kristen Stadtlander (born August 7, 1995) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Kris Statlander. She is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling, and has also performed on the independent circuit. She is currently ...

and

Nyla Rose Nyla Rose (born August 3, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and actress signed to All Elite Wrestling, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She also starred in the 2016 Canadian television series '' The Switch''. Rose bec ...

. In June 2022, Omega stated in an interview with Fightful that the game was tentatively scheduled to release later that year. Omega later confirmed that the game would be published by

Release

On August 3, 2022, AEW and THQ Nordic released an official teaser for the game, along with the cover art featuring

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known ...

Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. Brittany Baker (born April 23, 1991) is an American professional wrestler and dentist. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performs under the ring name Britt Baker where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. Born in Punxsut ...

, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho,

Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-W ...

, and

Jade Cargill Jade Cargill (born June 3, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is the inaugural and current AEW TBS Champion. Her ongoing reign is the longest reign of any AEW championship at + day ...

. However, due to CM Punk being suspended indefinitely following a backstage altercation at All Out, a new cover art without him was revealed in November, additionally featuring

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-ear ...

MJF Maxwell T. Friedman (born March 15, 1996), better known by his ring name Maxwell Jacob Friedman (often abbreviated to MJF), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AE ...

Orange Cassidy James Cipperly (born May 4, 1984), better known by his ring name Orange Cassidy, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW All-Atlantic Champi ...

Bryan Danielson Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he worked fr ...

, and

"Hangman" Adam Page Stephen Blake Woltz (born July 27, 1991), better known by his ring name "Hangman" Adam Page, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former AEW World Champion and AEW World Tag Team Champ ...

, alongside the wrestlers of the previous cover art. On August 12, 2022, a trailer at the THQ Nordic Digital Showcase featuring Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and

Tony Schiavone Noah Anthony Schiavone (, ; born November 7, 1957) is an American sports announcer, professional wrestling Commentator (professional wrestling), commentator and podcaster currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a play-by-play commen ...

was revealed, with one-on-one gameplay, as well as a look at the different mini-games in ''Fight Forever''. It was also announced that a demo of the game would be playable at

Gamescom Gamescom (stylized as gamescom) is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since 2018, it has been organised by ''game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche'' (English: Assoc ...

, winning the award for Best Sports Game at the event. On September 15, 2022, a demo was also playable at the

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. Th ...

References

External links

* {{All Elite Wrestling Upcoming video games scheduled for 2023 All Elite Wrestling Professional wrestling games Video games developed in Japan Yuke's games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation 5 games Xbox One games Xbox Series X and Series S games THQ Nordic games Nintendo Switch games Windows games