A new report claims that the upcoming All-Elite Wrestling (AEW) video game may be released as soon as September.
The debut video game for the upstart rival to WWE is being developed by Yuke’s, the Japanese studio previously responsible for the WWE Smackdown / WWE 2K series from 2000 to 2018.
While seemingly early footage from the game was shown last June and September, there’s been no further information about the title since.
However, according to Fightful Select (paywalled, via Wrestling Inc), there have been internal discussions about potentially releasing the game in September.
The report cites an AEW source who claims that while internal plans have not yet been finalised and there is still work to be done on the game, as of this week September is reportedly the release window being considered.
The game also reportedly now has a publisher, and the report claims that when the publisher is announced this news will be accompanied by other information such as the release date.
Veteran WWE game developer Yuke’s confirmed last year that it was working on a new “best in class” console game for WWE’s rival wrestling firm AEW.
During the game’s announcement, it was revealed that genre luminary, Hideyuki Iwashita, the director of classic fighting games WWF No Mercy and Def Jam Vendetta, would also be involved in the AEW title.
Yuke’s shared the first in-game footage of the AEW game last June, which featured Darby Allin fighting a generic green character.
Footage of the game shown last year suggested it was still in an early stage of development.
This was followed by a minute-long clip in September which showed the character model for Jungle Boy, along with footage of him fighting Darby Allin in the ring.
Iwashita’s influence can be seen in the footage, which looks more like a modern version of WWF No Mercy, rather than recent Yuke’s WWE games.
It was also confirmed in September that the late Owen Hart, who died in an accident at a WWF show in 1999, will make a posthumous appearance as a playable wrestler in the AEW game, as part of a partnership with the non-profit charity the Owen Hart Foundation.
This will mark Hart’s first appearance in a wrestling game since Showdown: Legends of Wrestling in 2004.
