AEW: Fight Forever

AEW: Fight Forever is a wrestling game based on the US league All Elite Wrestling, developed by YUKE’S and published by THQ Nordic. It focuses on directly controlled arcade fights rather than a complex TV broadcast simulation. The selection ranges from singles and tag team matches to unusual rule variants.

Wrestlers perform their own finishers and cooperative double moves. The game also offers a career, customisable wrestlers and arenas, local multiplayer matches and online duels.

AEW: Fight Forever was released on Jun 29, 2023 simultaneously for Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. In addition to the main game, THQ Nordic released extra fighter packs and various editions.

Each native platform version is a separate product. The DLCs expand these games but do not replace the base version.

Standalone versions are available for PC (Windows/Steam), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. The Switch version belongs to the first Switch generation; backward compatibility does not mean there is a standalone Switch 2 version.

On Steam and PlayStation, the on-screen text is available in German. Steam also lists German subtitles but does not list German voice-over. Online play may require additional platform requirements.

The match options include singles matches, tag team matches, matches with three or four participants, ladder matches and Casino Battle Royale. Each set of rules changes which actions and team combinations lead to victory.

The focus is on the individual abilities of the AEW wrestlers and the timing of inputs. In teams, shared manoeuvres are included. This makes a match with several people play differently from a one-on-one duel.

Several season passes and individual packs add more AEW personalities, music and cosmetic content to the main game. The characters added later include Toni Storm, Samoa Joe and Claudio Castagnoli.

The Beat the Elite expansion added a standalone offline tournament mode with ten consecutive matches on Dec 13, 2023. The various edition bundles group selected content together; not every bundle is included in the base game.

For Windows 10 (64-bit), Steam requires at least an Intel Core i5-3550 or AMD FX-8150 with AVX support, 8 GB RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1060, Radeon RX 480 or Intel Arc A380 with at least 4 GB graphics memory. You also need DirectX 12 and 25 GB of free storage.

Recommended: a Core i7-4790 or FX-8350, 16 GB RAM, and a GTX 1070, RX 580 or Arc A770 with at least 6 GB graphics memory. Operating system, DirectX version and storage requirements remain the same.

Road to Elite is the career mode. Players can also create their own wrestlers, teams and arenas. Appearance, clothing and movements can be customised.

The game supports both local matches and shared online play. According to Steam, cooperative and competitive modes are included. On consoles, several people can take part on one device.

On Aug 24, 2023, Stadium Stampede was added as a free extra mode. Up to 30 people take part in a large multiplayer match inside a football stadium. The setting and the various ways of moving around set this mode clearly apart from matches in the classic ring.