The future of All Elite Wrestling's video games appears to be murkier than ever. According to a new report, the startup wrestling company, built as an alternative to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), is "strongly considering" moving to a new developer for its next game.

Information about AEW's future video game prospects comes by way of Insider Gaming's Mike Straw, who spoke to multiple sources about the issues surrounding AEW's debut video game, AEW: Fight Forever, as well as the future of wrestling games. According to the report, Fight Forever "didn't go the way [AEW] expected." It has been classified as "over budget" and an "under-delivered" experience.

That has the company determining what its next steps should be, if any at all.

AEW: Fight Forever Was A Mixed Bag
When Fight Forever launched in June 2023, it wasn't an instant hit. In the leadup to the game's launch, its developers and AEW themselves lauded the game's controls, likening it to the nostalgic wrestling games of old, like WWF No Mercy. And while the game was reminiscent of those experiences, it was also buggy and lacked depth, or even a sense of identity.



The game was short on modes, and even launched a free-for-all battle royale type mode. There was also a litany of DLC, and while that is normally a good thing, the AEW DLC was absurdly expensive for a game that also looked very dated.



Moving forward, "everything is on the table," per the report. That's because "No one was really happy when the game came out.” And so, AEW must decide if it wants to pivot to mobile or take another crack at the console market.

It's important to note that moving on from Yukes as a developer won't impact things too harshly. According to the report, AEW owns the rights to the build of Fight Forever. In other words, they could, in theory, take that to another developer and have them iterate on it versus starting from scratch.

And apparently that's exactly what's being looked at right now. “There are feelers out to some of the larger developers in the space, including some obvious ones, to see what the interest in wrestling games are,” the article's source said. “They are doing their due diligence before any decision is made.”

Posted: Oct 05, 2024 8:59 am
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.thegamer.com/aew-is-reportedly-considering-a-new-developer-for-its-next-game/