Highlights
- AEW Fight Forever's multiplayer battle royale mode, Stadium Stampede, will be released on August 24, featuring up to 30 players fighting in an empty football stadium.
- The game has faced criticism for its lack of features and technical issues, but AEW wrestler Kenny Omega promises that more features will be added over time.
- Despite a drop in player count on Steam, the Stadium Stampede mode could generate renewed interest in AEW Fight Forever with its chaotic and over-the-top action.
AEW Fight Forever’s multiplayer battle royale mode finally has a release date, and it won’t be long before fans can jump into the virtual squared circle with their friends. THQ Nordic and former WWE video game developer Yuke's released AEW Fighter Forever earlier this summer after a lengthy delay, and while it hasn’t quite picked up the same momentum as WWE 2K23, it has still gotten some praise for its retro-style arcade gameplay that calls back to the days of WWF No Mercy and other classic brawlers.
One of the areas that AEW Fight Forever has struggled with is a lack of features and polish in comparison to WWE 2K23, with many players decrying the game’s limited character creation suite and technical issues on PS4. AEW wrestler Kenny Omega, who has been a driving force behind AEW Fight Forever from the very beginning, has addressed some of these criticisms and has promised that more features will be added to the game over time. The first noteworthy post-launch addition to Fight Forever will be Stadium Stampede, a battle royale mode that will let up to 30 players fight it out in an empty football stadium filled with weapons.
Now players have a release date for AEW Fight Forever’s new Stadium Stampede mode, as revealed in a new video post on the official AEW Twitter account. Kenny Omega and All-Elite Wrestling president Tony Khan appeared in this video and announced that Stadium Stampede will launch on August 24, just a few short days before its real-life counterpart at AEW’s All IN pay-per-view event in London’s Wembley Stadium. Kenny Omega also presented new footage of AEW Fight Forever’s new Stadium Stampede mode in action, featuring wrestlers battling it out across various parts of the area with everything from folding chairs to horses and utility carts.
Stadium Stampede might be coming at just the right time for AEW Fight Forever, as VGC reports that the game has seen a steady drop in player count on Steam since Stadium Stampede was announced in July. According to Steam’s database, the total amount of Fight Forever players plummeted to just 30 for the first time on Monday, with 24 logging in on Tuesday. While this low count could be due to more fans playing Fight Forever on consoles and a lack of cross-platform support, it means that there might not be enough players to fill Stadium Stampede’s 30-wrestler line-up at launch.
However, AEW Fight Forever’s new battle royale mode could drum up renewed interest in the game when it goes live later this week, especially since it puts a strong emphasis on the chaotic and over-the-top action that helped set the game apart from WWE 2K23. In any case, Stadium Stampede mode will be coming to AEW Fight Forever just in time for the real thing in Wembley on Sunday.
AEW: Fight Forever is available now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
