AEW’s first console video game, Fight Forever, has returned to the conversation after a report claimed the company lost at least $30 million on the project. Eric Bischoff has now addressed the story, questioning whether the figure is accurate while explaining how inexperienced people can quickly burn through money during game development.
Developed by Yuke’s and published by THQ Nordic, AEW Fight Forever was released on June 29, 2023, for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC. The game attempted to recreate the arcade-style wrestling associated with titles such as WWF No Mercy, but its release came after a lengthy development process and several delays.
Insider Gaming executive editor Mike Straw reported that AEW had to write off or write down at least $30 million from the project. The game was initially planned for release in 2022, but missed deadlines pushed its arrival into the summer of 2023. Straw also claimed it sold around half the number of copies AEW had expected. AEW has not publicly confirmed the reported figure.
During his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff recalled speaking with a gaming company connected to Fight Forever while researching an unrelated project several years ago. He said he was not investigating AEW at the time, but the conversation gave him some insight into what was happening behind the scenes.
“I actually had some—and I don’t remember enough of the conversation that I had a couple of years ago—with a gaming company that was working with AEW on this game. I was working on a project that may have involved a video game, so I was just doing some digging and some research, not necessarily looking into AEW. I didn’t really care about that. But I needed a better understanding.”
Bischoff claimed several people from AEW were closely involved in the game’s development despite not fully understanding what goes into creating one. He did not identify anyone because he acknowledged that his memory of the conversation was limited.
“There were a lot of people from AEW that love video games. I’m not going to drop names because I could be wrong, and it’s not fair to do that, but several high-profile names and an obnoxious referee that were very involved in the development of the game. Let’s just say they didn’t really understand that just because you’re good at playing it doesn’t mean you’re good at developing.”
Bischoff suggested that this lack of development experience may have contributed to delays, growing costs and damaged working relationships. However, he made it clear that he did not know whether the reported $30 million loss was correct.
“That was probably the root cause of a lot of the delays and the overruns. And then, you know, relationships tend to fray under those conditions, and I think that’s probably what happened. I don’t know if $30 million is right. You have to be really working hard at screwing s**t up to spend $30 million before they finish. But whatever, I don’t know. I have a hard time believing that that number is real.”
Although Bischoff doubted the figure, he acknowledged that a lengthy and poorly managed development cycle could consume that amount of money. He compared it to entering an industry without understanding the production process or costs involved.
“Could you run up a tab of $30 million developing a video game? It’s quite possible. You can burn some cash playing in a world you don’t even understand. You can go through a lot of money that way.”
Straw’s report also stated that Fight Forever reached only around half of AEW’s sales expectations and that there is no current agreement between AEW and Yuke’s for another project. AEW reportedly owns the game engine, which could allow the company to work with a different developer later, but nothing is said to be close at this time.
Bischoff’s response did not confirm the reported loss. Instead, he offered his recollection of a past conversation and argued that AEW’s hands-on involvement may have contributed to the game’s troubled development. For now, the $30 million number remains a claim attributed to Straw’s sources rather than a figure publicly verified by AEW.
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