AEW‘s first console game has a release date. AEW: Fight Forever, a game featuring the stars of All Elite Wrestling, will be coming out on June 29 for the PlayStation 4 and 5, the Xbox One and Series X|S, the Switch, and PC. Fans will be able to play as dozens of AEW stars, including Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Dr. Britt Baker DMD, Jade Cargill, MJF, and more, in a variety of match modes. It’s also the latest wrestling game from YUKE’S, a Japanese developer that has specialized in wrestling games for almost 30 years, and that was responsible for most of the WWE games made since 2000. And Hideyuki “Geta” Iwashita, who directed 2020’s WWF No Mercy, long considered perhaps the greatest wrestling game ever made, is also on board for Fight Forever.
Omega, an AEW Executive Vice President and World, Tag Team, and Trios Champion who has long had a connection to the videogame industry, serves as a creative director on the game, and has become its public face since it was first announced in 2020. “When I first signed with AEW, Tony Khan gave me the opportunity to assemble the best gaming team that understands and respects professional wrestling, to make the best wrestling games ever,” Omega says in a press release. “Thanks to our incredible collaboration with Geta, YUKE’s and THQ Nordic, a new era of professional wrestling gaming is quickly approaching. AEW: Fight Forever has exceeded my highest expectations, and I’m confident that June 29 will be a momentous day for wrestling fans and gamers alike.”
AEW has longed promised an “arcade-style” feel with Fight Forever based somewhat on the popular Nintendo 64 wrestling games made by AKI, including WWF No Mercy. Those games remain the gold standard for many wrestling fans, and if Fight Forever can recreate the natural flow of a wrestling match as well as those games did, it should have no problem building a fan base.
Fight Forever‘s list of features includes traditional one-on-one and tag team matches, along with three-ways, four-ways, and ladder matches. The company’s signature Casino Battle Royale will be in the game, as will falls count anywhere matches. AEW has become known for its wild and bloody brawls, and fans will be able to play unsanctioned lights-out matches, with weapons and “lots of blood” explicitly promised by the developers. There’ll be a career mode, and a wide set of customization options, including custom attire, appearance, move-sets, teams, arenas, entrances, and more.
Despite all that info, there’s still a lot we don’t know about Fight Forever. The full roster hasn’t been revealed yet, and details are sparse about what the career mode will entail. An earlier announcement touted a number of minigames, but those aren’t mentioned in the latest press release. Trios matches have become a major part of AEW since those titles were launched last year, but it’s unclear if that kind of match will be available in the game. There’s still over a month before release, though, so expect additional news and early hands-on impressions to arrive in the weeks to come.
It’s been 15 years since a major wrestling game based on an American promotion other than WWE has come out, and just as AEW offers an alternative to WWE for wrestling fans, Fight Forever will offer an alternative for fans of wrestling games. We’ll find out in just over a month if AEW: Fight Forever is a real contender or not.
AEW’s weekly television shows air on the former Turner networks, TBS and TNT. Dynamite, its flagship program, airs on TBS on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m., and Rampage airs on TNT on Fridays at 10 p.m. (when it isn’t preempted by NBA or NHL coverage). A third weekly AEW show, Collision, launches on TNT on Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m.
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