All Elite Wrestling is partnering with THQ Nordic to publish its upcoming console video game, AEW: Fight Forever. AEW co-Executive Vice President Kenny Omega, who has had a substantial role in developing the game, confirmed the news on a livestream with Community Effort Orlando founder Alex Jebailey. The former AEW World Champion simply answered the question about the game’s publisher and did not expand upon what it means beyond that. THQ has yet to comment on the news or elaborate on the specifics of their role with the game. Small samples of what the game will look like have surfaced sparingly over the past two years, but a full trailer, release date, or completed gameplay footage remains to be seen.
Videos by ComicBook.com
THQ Nordic is no stranger to professional wrestling video games. The publisher has worked on legendary WWE titles such as WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain andย WWF No Mercy. Their most recent contributions to wrestling games date back almost a decade, with WWE ’12 and WWE ’13.ย
While it looks like the game is finally making significant progress, development on AEW: Fight Forever has been full of obstacles. It was reported earlier this year that the game was “was over budget” which consequently led to numerous planned features being reduced or axed entirely from it completely. Beyond that, Omega reportedly “hates” working with Yuke’s, the primary developer on AEW: Fight Forever. Some have claimed that it feels like Yuke’s has tried to “take advantage” of Omega, who is inexperienced in his AEW Games position. Yuke’s has been a staple of professional wrestling video games for the entire 21st century, as they have helped develop everything from WWF Royal Rumble (2000) to most recently WWE 2K19 (2019).
Beyond test footage that included Omega, Chris Jericho, Jungle Boy, Darby Allin, and others, the full roster for Fight Forever remains unknown. AEW confirmed that wrestling legend Owen Hart would be a playable character in the game, while active talent like the Young Bucks and Nyla Rose have also been confirmed. Recently, Omega announced that despite his recent defection to WWE, Cody Rhodes would still be on the game’s roster. Fightful Select has reported that the roster is expected to be about 50 wrestlers at launch, with more names potentially coming in future DLC packs.
AEW: Fight Forever is currently without a release date. As of April 2022, AEW was reportedly looking at September 2022 for it to hit shelves.
