Report: AEW ‘strongly considering’ new developer for future video games

AEW is “strongly considering” working with a new development partner for future video games, Insider Gaming reported on Monday.

AEW: Fight Forever was released on June 29, 2023, to mixed reviews. The game was developed by Yuke’s, the Osaka-based company that also worked with WWE Games from 2000 to 2018.

“They [AEW] knows that things didn’t go the way they expected,” one source reportedly said. “The game was over-budget and it under-delivered when it came out. It has AEW strongly considering moving to a new developer for their games.”

“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. They are doing their due diligence before any decision is made.”

AEW owns the rights to the Fight Forever engine and can bring it with them to a new developer if they choose. However, today’s report does leave room for AEW and Yuke’s to work together again in the future.

“Everything is on the table,” Insider Gaming was told. “There were some positives with the Yuke’s relationship, and some feel that with a foundation in place, another game could make things better rather than giving up after one attempt. But you can’t argue that there are concerns with how things went in the final year of the game’s development.” 

In August 2022, there were reports AEW Vice President Kenny Omega and Yuke’s had “butted heads” and that Omega had grown frustrated working with the company. In April 2024, Insider Gaming reported that Yuke’s felt under pressure to “deliver something faster than what it should’ve been”.