While WWE 2K22 has that franchise thriving for the first time in years, the AEW video game, AEW Fight Forever, could be bringing competition sooner than some may expect.
We've got all the latest details on AEW Fight Forever thanks to a new report, and it could be taking the release window WWE 2K22 could've once aimed for.
New report teases AEW Video Game release date and publisher
Almost 18 months have passed since AEW Games made the monumental announcement that an AEW Video Game for consoles was in development.
Since that announcement, we've gotten a few glimpses at work-in-progress models and in-game footage, but otherwise things have remained fairly silent.
We now know this game is called AEW Fight Forever, and a new report from Fightful Select also sheds some light on when it could arrive.
According to the report, the AEW Video Game has a tentative release date of September 2022, which could mean this console title is less than six months away from launch.
The same report also mentioned that there is already a key publisher involved for the title, but it's not officially been announced just yet.
With only bits and pieces of information coming out, it's likely that AEW Games and this publisher are waiting to formally announce when they have significant details sorted out.
This new report mentioned that announcement could come "fairly soon," but of course plenty could change between now and September 2022.
We expect the formal announcement will include all the major details around AEW Fight Forever, including its publisher, key features, official release date, platforms, and likely a more finished trailer or some more in-game footage.
WWE 2K22 may have real competition just over the horizon
After a few years of stagnation and worry over the future of the franchise, WWE 2K22 has revitalized the wrestling sim genre and served as a new beginning for developer Visual Concepts and publisher 2K.
While not a perfect game by any means, WWE 2K22 has restored a level of faith and belief that the games could continue to improve which had been stripped away with the failure of WWE 2K20.
Now that they finally have a competitive option again, it could be the perfect time for WWE 2K22 to face some true competition in their genre.
With the exception of a few outliers from independent developers and releases like the TNA Impact Video Game, WWE hasn't faced real competition in the wrestling sim video game genre for over two decades.
The last real competition came from WCW during the Nintendo 64 era with releases like WCW/nWo Revenge and WCW vs. nWo: World Tour which have become beloved classics along with WWF No Mercy and WWF WrestleMania 2000 from the same period.
It's a difficult task to try and step up against WWE 2K22, a franchise with roots going back nearly three decades paired with one of the largest video game publishers today in 2K, but with the right pieces, we could see AEW Fight Forever provide a true alternative this year.