Details regarding All Elite Wrestling's in-development game, developed by longtime WWE 2K developer Yuke's and WWF No Mercy director Hideyuki "Geta" Iwashita, have been thin. Despite early energy surrounding the project, including gameplay clips and roster reveals, AEW has slowed reveals down dramatically. While that's been changing recently, a new unconfirmed report may explain the issue. It's possible that Kenny Omega, and AEW in general, is butting heads with Yuke's due to a troubling development cycle.The report comes from SportsGamersOnline, which explains that there's a significant amount of tension between developer Yuke's and Kenny Omega, who has been leading the game's direction from the USA. The report goes so far as saying that Omega is frustrated and "hating" working with Yuke's. One source even went so far as saying that it came across as if Yuke's was trying to "take advantage" of Omega's inexperience with game development.In elaboration, it's explained that there have been multiple arguments over the direction of AEW Fight Forever. The result is that the game's development is "way over budget" and even demanded additional investment beyond the additional allocation. Budget constraints have also led to various features being cut back or cut altogether. The one area of the game mentioned as being cut back is AEW Fight Forever's roster, which has since been confirmed to be 50 wrestlers large.
The conversation around AEW Fight Forever's roster size has broader complexities beyond just its size, however. AEW reportedly wants to expand the roster post-launch via DLC. This isn't something Yuke's is necessarily against, but it's said to be using the negotiations regarding DLC to be pushing for a long-term contract for future games. AEW, however, isn't committing to that future yet. There's a belief at this point that AEW Fight Forever will be a "one in done," meaning both AEW and Yuke's would move on to different projects and partners.
At the current moment, AEW's active roster features 100 wrestlers in the men's division and 25 in the women's division. However, there are a significant number more associated with AEW from AEW Dark, AEW Dark Elevation, Ring of Honor, and also the company's international partnerships with NJPW, AAA, and other promotions. DLC could be incredibly lucrative, so it's easy to see how much leverage it could offer Yuke's in a negotiation.
It bears repeating that this report is not confirmed, nor is it necessarily reliable. A separate report was shared earlier this week by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful that claimed that Kenny Omega has played a key role in AEW Fight Forever's development and has gone out of his way to ensure what the project needed was done. The report didn't mention any negativity on Omega's part, let alone Yuke's part. It's perhaps best to mention that pro wrestling, including its fandom, involves a lot of drama and exaggeration. The truth is rarely what it seems.
AEW Fight Forever is in development.