Naturally, it may prove difficult for AEW: Fight Forever to get its claws into a large swathe of gamers out of the gate, as it’s found a place in such a large shadow. Developer Yuke’s and publisher THQ Nordic may have to get creative with the way the game is released, as shoving it on store shelves alongside the latest WWE 2K offering will surely highlight some of the former’s issues. Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus have given smaller studios the chance to deliver games to a wide audience, and it might very well be the best option for AEW: Fight Forever.
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Game Pass Could Boost AEW’s TV Ratings
Though the game is very important in and of itself, AEW: Fight Forever is promotional material for the main AEW product. Putting its name out on a different medium to TV means there’s a whole different and new group of people who could be inclined to give the weekly AEW shows a shot. AEW: Fight Forever will allow people to learn the company’s roster of talent, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and find favorites to root for, all before even watching a single match. Often gamers don’t know what they want until they have it (as is evident with the likes of Rocket League, Undertale, and Journey), so are not likely to pay full price for a game that doesn’t have sufficient hype following it.
This is where Game Pass and PlayStation Plus excel. Each brings a batch of new games for a monthly fee and has titles available for immediate play, from retro experiences to new launches. Such platforms bring their own audience, and games like Nobody Saves the World and Pentiment show that games with a vast range of mechanics and formulas can catch fire quickly. AEW: Fight Forever needs a pre-existing audience of lenient and open-minded players, which is the whole point of digital-based games service. Subscribers may be aware of All Elite Wrestling’s lofty reputation, so the assumption that its video game counterpart is as good may not be justified, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Time will tell.
AEW Fight Forever Can’t Compete with WWE’s Quality
WWE games have been around for decades, with numerous revisions designed to improve the experience, making it more in line with the TV product while also competing with fighting games of all varieties. It’s seen a change in developers to Visual Concepts, but WWE 2K22 is a step forward out of a period of tumult for the franchise, meaning AEW: Fight Forever has a significant mountain to climb if it is to forge a legacy all its own away from the WWE shadow. AEW fans may flock to the game because of the company it’s representing, but players only stick around if the gameplay is good. It surely can’t compete with WWE 2K’s production value, so having it test the waters on Game Pass or PlayStation Plus could give it the chance to see how fans react to it.
AEW: Fight Forever using the ever-growing player base of Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus wouldn’t be a pioneering or even unique thought, but it would be a very smart move. Sales are surely not going to be as high as WWE 2K or even other fighting games, meaning the decision to go to a place that already has an audience of gamers who are willing to give even the smallest games a try would give the game the best chance at success.
AEW: Fight Forever is set to launch in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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