AEW Video Game Wishlist: 10 Things Fans Demand

At press time, AEW's first mainline video game is expected to drop sometime in 2022. There are rumours that a Q1 release is on the cards, but that may be a tad ambitious. Most fans would probably agree that it's best if Yuke's take their time here - nobody wants a rush job, or for the team to cut any corners.

Basically, they need to learn some sh*t from WWE's 2K series.

2K22 will be AEW's chief rival in the wrestler market, and WWE's devs haven't been quiet about their desire to put past mistakes to bed. Being honest though, Yuke's can't really worry about what's going on elsewhere. They have to ensure that they don't make the same errors, sure, but AEW's title is a fresh start for a famed developer, and they must do the prized Elite license justice.

People won't accept a barebones approach. Those same folks are expecting big things, and they need to see AEW's series become a true alternative to 2K's stranglehold on the genre.

This is how Yuke's go about that task, and how they turn AEW's first proper game into a must-buy winner...

It looks like 2K are doubling down on the sim approach in 2K22. If so, then AEW's game must do anything but! Early sounds coming out of the camp suggest that Yuke's fancy a much zippier gameplay style (think No Mercy-meets-Here Comes The Pain), which is promising.

Please, God. Please, make it happen.

All Elite's match style is pacy and urgent. This might p*ss a few people off to hear, but it's just one man's opinion: AEW wrestlers favour spots, and plenty of them. So, in the game, it's important that characters motor around the ring with speed and precision - an arcade spirit would be best here.

No clunky mini-games, no endless button prompts and no locked-in animations. No, no and no. AEW's title has to be easy to pick-up-and-play for all ages without being a button masher like 2K Battlegrounds. That's possible if Yuke's are patient and find the right balance.