Pre-release Several members of AEW management expressed interest in an AEW video game ahead of
AEW Dynamite's debut episode in October 2019. The game was officially announced on November 10, 2020, at the AEW Games 1.0 Special Event.
Yuke's was announced as the developer, having previously worked on multiple games for both New Japan Pro-Wrestling and WWE, as well as
Rumble Roses for
Konami. It would be their first wrestling game since
WWE 2K19 in 2018. The reveal trailer featured AEW wrestlers Kenny Omega,
Chris Jericho, and
Hikaru Shida. Hideyuki "Geta" Iwashita, director of
WWF No Mercy and
WCW/nWo Revenge, was also announced as the director. Later that month, Hiromi Furuta, senior producer at Yuke's, stated that
WWF No Mercy was a key influence due to its popularity with fans of the genre, and that
Fight Forever was not intended to rival the
WWE 2K series. In June 2021, the first in-development gameplay video was released, including the reveal of
Darby Allin. In September, another short gameplay video featuring
Jungle Boy was released. On September 20, 2021, AEW announced a partnership with the
Owen Hart Foundation to preserve the legacy of
Owen Hart, which included an appearance in the forthcoming console game. This would mark Hart's first appearance in a video game since 2004 in
Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, which was released by
Acclaim. In February 2022, Kenny Omega stated that the game would feature
cross-platform play. However, only cross-generation play was available at launch, with
PS4 players able to connect with
PS5 players, and
Xbox One players being to interact with
Xbox Series X/S players. Following the April 21, 2022 taping of
AEW Dynamite, AEW founder
Tony Khan told the live crowd that the title of the game would be
AEW: Fight Forever. This was formally announced on May 4, 2022, with the release of gameplay videos featuring
Kris Statlander and
Nyla Rose. In June 2022, Omega stated in an interview with Fightful that the game was tentatively scheduled to release later that year. Omega later confirmed that the game would be published by
THQ Nordic. In December 2022,
Evil Uno revealed to Fightful that the game would launch with over 50 playable characters, with new roster members and game modes being added as
downloadable content over time, likening it to ''
No Man's Sky''. Despite his departure from AEW in February 2022 and subsequent return to the
WWE at
WrestleMania 38, former executive vice-president
Cody Rhodes remained part of the base roster as an unlockable wrestler in
Fight Forever. When asked about Rhodes' presence in the game, Kenny Omega responded that he was "very passionate about making sure [Rhodes'] legacy and position within the company were preserved," and that "you get to experience AEW from the beginning, from day one," referencing Rhodes' involvement in the formation of AEW. As a result, Rhodes became the first wrestler in 24 years to appear in two professional wrestling games released by rival promotions within the same calendar year, having been playable in
WWE 2K23 which was released 3 months prior to
Fight Forever. Tony Khan said in June 2021 that he put forth an eight-figure investment in AEW's games division. Journalist
Dave Meltzer reported the budget for
Fight Forever itself exceeded $10 million as of June 2022. Other reports during this time stated that development costs exceeded the game's planned budget, causing conflict between Yuke's development staff and AEW management. On June 22, 2023, AEW Senior Vice President Nik Sobic stated in an interview with SEScoops that the decision was made early on to hand-animate the moves instead of using
motion capture technology. He also mentioned that if the team had unlimited time, the game would have featured full rosters from both AEW and NJPW, adding that if
Fight Forever performed well and the fans requested it, there would be opportunities for crossover updates in the future. In the same interview, THQ Nordic producer David Knudsen pushed back on rumors that blood was removed due to issues with the
ESRB.
Post-launch content Before the game's launch, two versions of
Matt Hardy were announced as the pre-order bonus for the game, featuring both his standard and "Broken" Matt personas. The contents of the Elite Edition was also revealed and made available for digital pre-order that same day, containing the Matt Hardy pre-order bonus, a one-day early access before wide release and the
Season One Pass, which itself includes
FTR (
Cash Wheeler and
Dax Harwood),
"Limitless" Keith Lee,
The Bunny,
Hook, and
Danhausen, as well as four additional mini-games. In July 2023, a new
Stadium Stampede mode was announced as part of a free update, loosely based on the match stipulation of the same name but presented as an online multiplayer
battle royale game mode for up to 30 players to fight in an open arena environment set in a stadium, where players can level up, customize weapon loadouts and skills, with item chests and vehicles, with visual comparisons being made to games like
Fortnite. On August 23, 2023, AEW general manager, Tony Khan, AEW executive-vice president and head of AEW Games, Kenny Omega and
Eddie Kingston announced that the Stadium Stampede mode would launch the following day in a video message filmed at
EverBank Stadium in
Jacksonville, Florida ahead of the
All In pay-per-view at
Wembley Stadium in
London, England. In November 2023, Season Pass Two was announced, which included wrestlers
Toni Storm,
The Acclaimed (
Anthony Bowens and
Max Caster), a new arena based on the updated
AEW Dynamite arena and a new game mode in
Beat the Elite, a fighting game style arcade mode where the player faces ten wrestlers in order, with the final battle being against a member of
The Elite, to earn exclusive rewards based on game difficulty settings. In February 2024, Season Pass Three was announced featuring
Swerve Strickland,
Claudio Castagnoli, and
Jamie Hayter, a new arena with a ring set at beachside and various additional wrestling moves, music tracks, skins and clothing options for customizing. In May 2024, Season Pass Four was released, featuring
Adam Copeland,
Jay White,
Samoa Joe, two new arenas, a new tournament game mode and various additional wrestling moves, music tracks, skins and clothing options for customizing. == Release ==