AEW Console Game: Tony Khan is spending millions on their games division

While very little is known about the AEW Console Game, we have now gotten an idea of just how much the company is investing towards the product.

Thanks to his comments during a recent media call, it looks like the AEW Console Game has got the budget it needs to deliver.

Tony Khan spending millions on AEW Console Games and games division

As has become a common occurrence, AEW's founder, co-owner, president, and CEO Tony Khan isn't shy about discussing business with transparency.

During his most recent media call, Tony Khan stated he's put "8 figures" of his own money in the AEW Games division, as reported by Sean Ross Sapp who attended the call.

That means that Tony Khan has dropped at least $10 million on their games division, much of that likely going towards development of the AEW Console Game, and he seems confident it was all worthwhile.

We don't know how much crossover there is between what Tony has spent personally and what the company may have invested or spent towards things, but that's still a significant chunk of change.

While a chunk surely went towards titles like the AEW Elite GM mobile game and their AEW Casino: Double or Nothing offering, there's no doubt the majority of that investment is focused on their most significant project.

While this piece of information is key, it unfortunately comes with more questions than answers, as his 8-figure estimate could be anywhere from $10 million to $99 million.

How much does developing a wrestling video game actually cost?

Massive video game properties are known to have spent well into the hundreds of millions on development, but how much is standard or normal for a title like this is much more difficult to determine.

Due to the secrecy within the industry, WWE Games, 2K Sports, current developer Visual Concepts, and previous developer Yuke's have never disclosed the production cost or budget required for their titles.

However, one comparison point would be to look at the WWE earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2019, which included the launch of WWE 2K20.

"Revenues decreased to $30.8 million from $32.8 million in the prior year quarter primarily due to lower video game royalties, which were driven by the Company’s franchise console game WWE 2K20," according to the report.

While this figure encompasses all of their revenue from consumer products, including other merchandising, the failure of WWE 2K20 contributing to the $2 million revenue loss is notable.

WWE 2K20 had solid pre order success prior to the game's release, but things backfired heavily as the game was so full of bugs that they began issuing refunds to those who requested it.

If the failure of WWE 2K20 only cost the company a potential $2 million, Tony Khan spending $10+ million investing in their own division solidifies that they're taking the AEW Console Game and AEW Games very seriously.