Yukes Explains How AEW Fight Forever DLC Is Decided

November 2, 2024

Key Takeaways

Yuke’s has a deep legacy with wrestling games, from Japanese-exclusive titles to WWE titles to the first-ever AEW game.
In a new interview with Video Games Chronicle, the studio discussed its history with wrestling video games, including its newfound rivalry with WWE.
Another key segment of the interview was the discussion about DLC and just how it is decided upon.

In the same way that Activision is synonymous with Call of Duty and Capcom is synonymous with Street Fighter, for a generation of wrestling fans, Yuke’s is synonymous with just that. From their early days of developing Japanese-exclusive wrestling games to taking on the WWE license through the 2000s, Yuke’s is wrestling.

However, following the release of WWE 2K19, Yuke’s was no longer responsible for future WWE games. But with the advent of AEW, an alternative wrestling promotion, Yuke’s returned to the fold of wrestling games once again with AEW Fight Forever.

In a new interview with Video Games Chronicle, the studio discussed its work, along with several other topics.

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Newfound Rivalry With WWE

For the first time in decades, WWE has a legitimate and profitable competitor in AEW. That has pushed the wrestling company to up its game, both on television and in its marketing. With Yuke’s having been intimately involved with both, they have a unique perspective.

“The more wrestling games are out there, and the more teams working on wrestling games, the better it ultimately is for the wrestling game community, because you get more and more fans, and people get more and more excited about it,” studio producer Takashi Takezawa said.

That said, AEW’s inaugural game took a more old school approach, compared to the hyperrealistic WWE 2K series. That’s something that Takezawa has taken note of, adding, “And, you know, having played the newest release and seen some of the cool new features and things like that, I think in terms of rivalry, it’s going to be a challenge to overcome those guys there – they’re getting really good.”

How AEW’s DLC Is Decided On

Another key highlight of the interview was the discussion over Fight Forever’s DLC. The game took its name literally by making several season passes available for purchase to help build out the roster. Those passes received flak from the community due to their cost.

While Takezawa was unable to get into specifics, he did share that AEW has the final call when it comes to who is added to the game and when they’re added. In some ways, it seems like that has impacted things negatively, as Takezawa shared that there were instances in which they had one wrestler created, only for another to be requested.

“Players might see a character and ask ‘Why is this guy wearing his old outfit? Why does he have his old affiliation?’ That’s simply because we made him once before, and we had no time to keep up with the latest because it is, again, a very fast-moving IP.”

Even though Yuke’s future with the franchise is murky at best, it is obvious that they love wrestling. “Wrestling is part of our DNA and will continue to be a pillar of the company, so we’ll definitely keep making wrestling content in one form or another,” Takezawa shared.