In a Twitter thread response to followers, Hollenbo explained that he doesn’t think that Khan “lied in any shape or form” about AEW Fight Forever’s development status but that there was a clear difference in how the AEW president and THQ Nordic view a game being finished. This is the latest in a longer series of dramatics with the game, which includes cover art that had to pull its depiction of wrestler CM Punk following his backstage fight with Omega and the Jacksons and the game’s lack of a release date.

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What does it mean for a game to be finished?

AEW Games

Speaking with Kotaku via email, Hollenbo explained that a game being finished goes further than being playable at video game events like Gamescom 2022 or IGN Fan Fest 2023.

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“For a publishing house, a game is not finished until we have a shipping date and a release date 100% in stone. Development is just one part of the bigger picture,” Hollenbo said.

Outside of playing great in test matches, Hollenbo said AEW: Fight Forever needs to:

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“Now if just ONE of these things isn’t finished then the game in a publisher’s eye is not ready to be shipped as then the product is not as wanted,” Hollenbo said.

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Hollenbo went on to explain that AEW Fight Forever is being developed by “three houses,” as in the companies developing the game. Those companies are Yukes, the Japanese studio behind WWE Smackdown! and the WWE 2K games, THQ Nordic, and AEW.

Because AEW Fight Forever has three houses developing it, Hollenbo said “all must agree and be happy with the result of every step.”

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Read More: Stop Preordering Video Games

Last June, AEW wrestler Kenny Omega claimed AEW Fight Forever’s original release was held up after some content was “scaled back” to get a Teen ESRB rating, according to Fightful Select. Previously, Fightful Select reported that the game was on schedule to release in 2022 and was later rumored to release in February 2023.

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When Kotaku reached out to THQ Nordic for comment about how far along AEW Fight Forever is in its development process, THQ Nordic’s PR team responded by saying, “AEW: Fight Forever will be released when it’s done.”

AEW Fight Forever’s new cover art

AEW Games

Although the AEW Fight Forever sausage has been cooking longer than fans might have hoped, AEW hasn’t slowed down when it comes to generating hype for the game with early gameplay footage on its YouTube channel, AEW Games.

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AEW Fight Forever was first announced in November 2020. Since its announcement, AEW has intermittently released early footage of the game and created a series of spoof press conference videos about the game, parodying video game presentations like E3. Despite AEW Dynamite’s commentary team repeatedly plugging preorders for the game on fans’ “favorite consoles,” the only definitive news fans have gotten on the game is AEW Fight Forever isn’t a release date, but the game’s new cover art.

Read More: AEW’s Messiness Is Making WWE Look Downright Tame

Originally, AEW Fight Forever’s cover art prominently featured returning wrestler CM Punk as the centerpiece of the game’s advertising campaign. However, following CM Punk and fellow wrestlers, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Omega’s backstage brawl and CM Punk’s subsequent suspension, the game’s cover art no longer features him on the cover. Instead, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, AEW’s current world champion, is featured as the centerpiece of AEW Fight Forever’s cover. CM Punk is rumored to be open to returning to the wrestling promotion, according to WrestleTalk.

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Time will tell whether this wrestling rumor leads to the return of CM Punk before AEW gives its video game a concrete release date.

Correction 4/12/2023 6:25 p.m. ET: Clarified owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars.