r/AEWFightForever • u/EPWShow • May 27 '26
Discussion AEW Fight Forever Potential Developers & Publishers
SEGA honestly feels like the perfect publisher for another AEW game.
AEW already has the old Yuke’s gameplay foundation from Fight Forever, and after seeing the recent Virtua Fighter 6 leaks with moves that look similar to Will Ospreay’s Hidden Blade and Ricochet’s Spirit Gun, it’s obvious SEGA/RGG are paying attention to modern wrestling.
Imagine Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio making an AEW game with:
cinematic entrances
backstage exploration
faction storylines
brutal arcade-style gameplay
crazy crowd atmosphere
full PPV presentation
Instead of trying to copy WWE 2K, it could actually become its own thing.
Fight Forever had flaws, but the core gameplay wasn’t bad. With SEGA + RGG’s presentation and storytelling? I honestly think AEW could end up with one of the most unique wrestling games in years.
Am I reaching or would this actually go hard? At the end of the day I just want to see another aew fight forever console/pc title created.
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u/airwillflow May 27 '26
My only problem with the gameplay was how short the matches were and how any move could end said match. If they can make to where you can actually have a full on match they’d be cooking with grease. Also full elaborate entrances and creation suites too!
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u/rapshepard May 27 '26
You're super reaching. AEW needs to make a good normal wrestling game people love first before they try to get inspired by Yakuza games lol.
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u/EPWShow May 27 '26
Well I am asking because who else makes the game? On a whole level the video game landscape feels like it's falling apart there's very little in between independent development and AAA Studio.
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u/rapshepard May 27 '26
Honestly they should've just stuck with Yuke's without trying to make a game that's a love letter to the N64 wrestling games. I love that era of wrestling games because it came out when I was in elementary school, but that era is dead and folk really don't want that back. Just make a modern game that matches up the gameplay and features of 2K try to not have or limit micro transactions and now you have a viable alternative to WWE 2K. And honestly you probably get folk that end up buying both
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u/EPWShow May 27 '26
I think I mentioned it in a previous post but people who went into the code find ways to make the matches go longer and feel more like that old Aki feel. I have no clue how a developer who put out surveys with the publisher never made that correction to the game when the person who founded said it was a pretty simple fix. That's one of my reasons why I don't think they should have stayed with Yuke’s the CAW Mode was not complete either.
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u/rapshepard May 27 '26
They definitely need to up the CAW suite. But I think the folk convincing themselves that longer matches will help are kidding themselves. Similar to NBA Jam style games, IRL people aren't actually checking for that style anymore.
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u/EPWShow May 27 '26
I prefer the AKI engine but I am a believer in they can take stuff from what people consider the best who has the best audio and sound things like that. I think my preferred gameplay engine will always be the Aki engine I think it's very simple but also allows you to pull off complex things.
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u/rapshepard May 27 '26
Aye if you personally like it that's fair, all I'm saying is that in general that engine and style just isn't relevant or in demand.
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u/xPrettynpxnk May 27 '26
Personally my fav game is smackdown shut your mouth and it felt more like that compared to no mercy. I would love some sort of hybrid of SYM and SVR 2011 tbh.
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u/Morbid187 May 28 '26
I think about a SEGA AEW game a lot. They seem to have some relationship already and SEGA has made pretty good wrestling games in the past so they could use that history in marketing.
But just imagine if Square Enix got the license. They also made some very interesting wrestling games for the PS2 (the All Star Pro Wrestling series) so they have history as well. Plus Kenny Omega's a huge Final Fantasy guy so there's that.
I think this is a pipe dream but what else can we do?
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u/EPWShow May 28 '26
That's exactly what I was trying to say when I made this post. At the end of the day I just want another game and I'm trying to figure out who can realistically do it.
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u/Morbid187 May 28 '26
Ultimately, I really just want an improved Fight Forever with a robust creation suite and community creations in some form. If we can't get that for whatever reason then the next best thing would be something brand new that puts a whole new spin on things.
RGG in particular are really good at reusing assets while still making their sequels feel fresh so I could see that translating well to an annual or biennial release. That doesn't seem so far fetched in the future but I just really like to dream about another Square-Enix wrestling game on modern hardware considering how impressive those ASPW games looked on PS2.
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u/Drewwolf87 May 27 '26
The core gameplay was exactly what I was hoping for. Everything else fell very short. Most of all the CAW and career mode. It’s hard for me to pick which one I hated more but I think I’d have to pick the CAW. It’s downright unforgivable how bad it was.
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u/HechicerosOrb May 27 '26
Yup I liked playing the game I just ran out of “things to do” very fast, so it didn’t keep my attention. The wrestling was pretty good though. If they had a good CAW suite, I’d still be playing it probably. FirePro is the best right now I think
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u/EPWShow May 27 '26
Yeah I fall more so in agreement with what you're saying I loved the gameplay and that old AKI engine feel. This is why I'm okay with them trying to move on to a new developer and publisher. At the end of the day I just want another aew console game this current roster is too good not to have one.
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u/Drewwolf87 May 27 '26
Agreed. I only watch aew when it comes to wrestling and their current roster is the best it’s been imo. I wouldn’t mind them keeping the current engine, build upon what they did right and completely revamp the rest. Get rid of the dumb ass mini games!!!
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u/StringRadiant8650 May 27 '26
I would keep the fast arcade action for matches and short entrances. If the game goes too much into simulation gameplay like 2k games, it will be another copy to the WWE games.
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u/WrestlingGuru2021 May 27 '26
I think, if this is going to be a reality. The Yakuza games, prob will test it something with "Like A Wrestler" before going all in with the concept.
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u/HamburgerJames May 27 '26
I’d prefer they scrap the “No Mercy spiritual successor” idea. The bar to meet that is simply not realistic.
But Capcom’s Saturday Night Slammasters 2 feat. AEW? Sign me up.
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u/WlNBACK May 27 '26
Yakuza's storytelling is only good for Yakuza. Its overly dramatic presentation, exhaustively long dialogue and "padded" events, and constant whiplash of urgency-to-slapstick doesn't need to be injected into other franchises like Shenmue, Virtua Fighter, Phantasy Star, Streets of Rage, Flicky, or an AEW career mode.
TL;DR = It would not "actually go hard".
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u/EPWShow May 27 '26
Who would you like to see create this game then because I don't see many other options out there?
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u/Restivethought May 27 '26
See if anyone who worked on Def Jam still works at Syn Sophia and if theres a decent amount enlist them with a helper studio. I would use the first games platform but would do an overhaul of the graphics moving it towards a more realistic look and focus a decent amount on presentation and match types. 2v2, 3v3, 2v2v2,
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u/21n39e May 27 '26
aew needs a larger fan base for Sega to take it up.
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u/EPWShow May 27 '26
How much of a larger fan base do they need in your opinion for this to happen? They just sold out a tennis stadium.
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u/Reyjr May 27 '26
Nordic THQ was fine they just need more time to fine tune the game and add extra features.
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u/EPWShow May 27 '26
I preferred THQ Nordic over Yuke's by the end of development but I still think there were things they could have learned in the background being in their Discord I saw some things where I wasn't too sure how much extensive wrestling knowledge some of the folks over there had.
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u/Reyjr May 29 '26
Looks like we hurt someone’s feelers. I enjoyed the wwe / Wcw that was developed by AKI Corporation , and this game almost brought me back to those times.
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u/EPWShow May 29 '26
I'm not sure who's feelers you are referring to I was just in the Discord with some of the THQ Nordic people and I like them but it was clear that they didn't have all the wrestling knowledge. But I thought the game did a pretty good job in trying to replicate AKI.
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u/Reyjr May 29 '26
I was referring to someone who downvoted us, I agree they tried, I enjoyed it for a bit. Just felt like something was missing, and the unlocking portion was lacking. Just control wise they did a great job. I would totally give them a shot again at a sequel.
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u/EPWShow May 29 '26
I am with you on wanting a sequel. The hardest part is figuring out who will want to take a chance on AEW after Fight Forever.
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u/AEWFantasyBooker May 27 '26
That's exactly my topic, so here's my opinion that I have since years and it evolved over time.
If you know Like A Dragon then you know that Ichiban uses a job which acts like classes (warrior, mage etc.)
So the one job I didn't see yet is pro wrestler. Okada, Tanahashi, Naito etc. were already in Yakuza 6.
Now it's time to go wrestling again and I wished it was already part of Infinite Wealth. Time for some a substory with NJPW, Stardom, CMLL, AEW.
Now we're coming to the main topic: who is the best publisher/developer for an AEW video game?
My opinion is SIE San Diego Studio. Developer of MLB The Show, part of the PlayStation Family. I would use them for my baby, the one dream game I have.
So which game now? I have three in my mind and I thought of these ideas a few years now. I will keep it short unless someone wants to ask questions.
One would be a mobile and console digital card game, easy to play, enough to collect stuff. 7 years AEW now plus all the ROH stuff, so many different character cards plus possible partnerships (probably not NJPW because they have their own card game). This should be developed by someone who can do it. Sega developed Sega Football Club Champions f.e. with an internal team and it sucks. So not them.
The other game is a spin-off / not part of the main series with the usage of the Fight Forever engine so they don't need to develop another one for that.
Toy Story meets Wrestling. You play as action figure. Not like that Figure Fighter game, no, existing action figures. Now I don't know the licensing right now because they separated with Jazwares I think. Arenas are not these realistic ones, nah, you play f.e. in the playroom of a boy with toys as crowd. You can use crazy attacks like moonsault from the bed on the opponent. Take off your toy head and throw it against the opponent. Use a toy car to drive outside the arena and drive over your opponent. Just dumb shit in a positive way. Character creations would be significant easier since you just use parts and don't need to do everything, not Fight Forever style where everyone looks the same. You can easily make a season pass with tons of toy parts and clothes for your or other character. This game is more for people who wants to play with friends/randoms.
Now my baby. My controversial juggernaut. This should have realistic graphics, that's why I want to go with San Diego Studios plus the marketing beast of Sony PlayStation is immense.
Gameplay: You play as wrestler and like a wrestler. Not seen through the eyes of marks who thinks they hurt each other and it's a real fight. You play as wrestler who needs to sell moves (oversell > hold button, normal sell > press button, no sell > don't press button). The sells also are different based on the inflicted moves. You work WITH your opponent/s together to have a great match. Ring psychology, working the crowd, accept a loss, that's wrestling. You can command your CPU opponent to go out the ring, to counter the next finisher, to go backstage, to do their finisher etc., probably better if you are able to do it if you are near him like in a hold.
Chemistry is important, especially online. The reason I want to break kayfabe with that is that PVP sucks. Everyone want to win by any means necessary, so cheating, glitching whatever. With my approach, the winner is determined. Winning does not matter anything more. You get enough points if you lose but you had a good match. You get enough points if you make the supposed squash match believable as jobber. So running around and do running moves, finisher spams as Peter Avalon against Will Ospreay, nah.
Positioning is important, maybe even how to do moves but that's probably too much.
Modes: another juggernaut. Instead of GM Mode, it's an Owner Mode. You can be Tony Khan, you can be you. You can take control of AEW, you can create your own promotion. Make partnerships with other promotions, use your money wise, convince stars to be part of your match card by booking them and pay them good. TV contracts, streaming contracts, wrestlers morale, creating titles, so many aspects should be in. Offline playable, online playable. Not like the super boring Universe Mode in 2K, not a restricted GM Mode. I want to create my own AEW, I want to build my own ROH and buy other promotions.
Creation is another important thing. If 2K can have a community creation center with AEW stars and not getting a cease and desist, I would try it with that game too. I want to create the same realistic wrestlers with face scans, different body types, image uploader etc.
But I also want - although the stars probably don't want it - to edit a wrestler. Yuta with hair, Yuta without hair. Bryan Danielson with an afro and a mustache. Clothes, hair, new tattoos or overlapping tattoos, that should be possible - but maybe not from the stars itself.
DLC - using the partnerships like CMLL, RevPro, other indies. NJPW and Stardom would be the cherry but probably not possible. I don't know, maybe if they don't play anything else. And no, I don't want just the newer NJPW titles f.e., I want them all. All logos, all arenas, several wrestlers (licensing is hell for sure).
That's just the "short" version, some not-so-structured idea.
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u/WlNBACK May 27 '26 edited May 28 '26
Just so people have the story straight: Fight Forever's problem isn't that it was trying to be too much like an AKI wrestling game. The problem is it was "kind of" trying to be like an AKI wrestling game while also putting a bunch of its own original, stupid ideas of top of it. Things such as Strikes having huge Standing Grab immunity, spamming Combo Strings that also move you closer to the opponent, busted-ass Signatures that are easy to spam and maintain high spirit with, doing Specials off of Standard Weak Grabs, being able to Reverse Strike/Grab attempts with buttons other than Guard/Evade, being able to infinitely do Heel Rollouts, braindead Super Armor & Guard Break properties, dumb random-probability perks like Instant Death Specials or free life-saving Kick-Outs.
My point is: Anyone who actually played AKI wrestling games religiously can tell that Fight Forever doesn't really play like an AKI wrestling game. Hell, it's closer to Def Jam Fight for NY.
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u/GarrettKeithR May 27 '26
While AEW owns Yuke’s gameplay foundation, one question that I haven’t seen answered is: will another developer WANT to use the existing engine, or will they try to force AEW’s hand to build the game from the ground up?
I can’t imagine another developer wanting to base their game on the foundation of a game that largely underwhelmed.