‘AEW Fight Forever’: What Went Wrong?

I’m a huge wrestling fan. And I have been since I first saw Sting in his “Crow” character when I was a kid. I eventually moved on to be a fan of The Rock and I’ve been (mostly) locked in ever since. I say “mostly” because WWE has had some serious lean years. Specifically, for me, starting in 2014 when I stopped watching WWE. Then, in 2020, an up-and-coming company called AEW brought me back to pro wrestling. 

Now, despite all my history of watching pro wrestling, I still played the games. From WCW/NWO: World Tour to the present day, I have played every major wrestling video game (even the legendarily bad WCW Backstage Assault) — and even a couple of indies (like the excellent WrestleQuest). 

So, when Kenny Omega announced an AEW game to be made in partnership with Yuke’s that would pay homage to WWF No Mercy, I was really excited. Especially knowing the game director of No Mercy was brought in to consult. The game was released in June 2023, and it was… okay. There was a clear foundation, but AEW failed to build upon it correctly. So, what went wrong?

AEW: FIGHT SOMETIMES? 

Let’s start small. The online community for this game was next to nonexistent. And it was weird. The appetite for the game existed, especially with CM Punk being back — not just in AEW but in a game for the first time in years. Of course, there’d be a whole incident prior to the game’s release that would result in him being removed from the cover. But, that’s no longer relevant.

There were people who wanted to play, but apparently, not online. Besides that, the game was a bit rough around the edges animation-wise, and the gameplay was a bit slow. That being said, there was real potential given the roster AEW had and the fact that Kenny Omega is an avid gamer and genuinely cared about making this good. 

The other issue was the game modes. The career mode was pretty barebones and wasn’t too different than just firing up a bunch of one-on-one matches in quick play. The creation suite wasn’t nearly as expansive as expected; that was a huge letdown. Especially when you consider that, in wrestling games, the creation suite is everything.

BOTCHED THE MOVE

The biggest issue to me with the game is how the DLC release was set up. For a new game looking to gain a player base, releasing the “Elite Edition” and then following that up with an “Ultimate Edition” is a wild move. AEW is no stranger to wild moves, but you can’t pull this one with gamers.

But to then drop MORE content after the “Ultimate Edition” borders on disrespect. And this is before July of this year when they released an “All Season Passes” bundle for 40 dollars. The same price as the base game currently. It was just a bad way to handle the game overall. Which is sad because there is a decent amount of content that came with all of this.

People will excuse a rough game with the promise of improvements or a better sequel. When you don’t respect their time or their money, however, that’s when you start to lose them. And AEW did just that. I sincerely hope Kenny Omega has learned from the year since the game’s release because the AEW roster has the type of talent that would make an incredible wrestling game. The focus, though, needs to be on the quality of the game and not the quantity of additional content.