According to an exclusive report from Insider Gaming, multiple sources have told them that the decision makers at AEW are “strongly considering” finding a new development partner moving forward for future video games.
Also per the report, a source told Insider Gaming that AEW knew things did not go the way they expected, as the game [AEW Fight Forever] was “over-budget and it under delivered when it came out. It has AEW strongly considering moving to a new developer for their games.”
AEW Fight Forever launched in June of last year to mixed response. Insider Gaming notes that while the gameplay was fun and easy to pick up, the lack of depth and various bugs was a turnoff for many of its players. Insider Game further notes this past April they were told developers had pressure to “deliver something faster than what it should’ve been”.
Insider Gaming adds that AEW is now trying to figure out where to go with their games. The original contract with Yuke’s was for one year of post launch updates which came in the form of four season passes that added wrestlers, moves, game modes, and venues. The last DLC pack was released in July, adding Jay White to the roster. There has also said to their have been talks for releasing recently signed wrestlers Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Mercedes Mone’ to the game’s roster. However, at the time of Insider Gaming’s report, it is not clear where those talks between AEW and Yuke’s stand.
The sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Insider Gaming say that the primary focus is around the gaming future as a whole.
Issues with Yuke’s and AEW dates all the way back to before Fight Forever was officially released. There was a lot of conflicts between both sides, including involving AEW EVP Kenny Omega. Insider Gaming says at one point they were told that Omega was frustrated to the point of “hating” working with Yuke’s, while others felt that Yuke’s was trying to “take advantage” of Omega due to his inexperience around helping with game development.
A source further told Insider Gaming that “no one was really happy when the game came out.” Even before launch of AEW Fight Forever, there were discussions internally about whether to continue with the game with Yuke’s, bring it over to a new developer and either build on what’s been done or start from scratch, or leave the console market and continue to focus on mobile.
The source added that “a lot of people in the company want another shot with a console game, but it only matters if the one signing the checks wants to trust them again.” However, as far as where this is at this point, it was further stated that no one knows.
Insider Gaming concludes their report by noting that AEW owns the rights to the build for Fight Forever. It’s built using Unreal Engine 4 and can bring it over to a new developer if they wanted to build on top of what was made. It’s unlikely that, after Fight Forever went well over budget and did not turn a profit, AEW would look to have another game built from scratch. However, this all comes down to the kind of deal made with a new partner. The publication further notes that it is important to clarify that these are currently in the discussions stage. No final decision has been made by AEW regarding a new partner or if there will even be a new game any time soon.