Ever since AEW All Out 2022, CM Punk hasn’t been mentioned in any official capacity on AEW. He has been referenced, but no one has said his name directly at all in three months. With all of this silence, a belief among wrestling fans emerged that Punk was being quietly erased/removed from AEW. But that doesn’t appear to be the case.
One of AEW’s biggest projects since its launch has been its wrestling video game, now titled AEW Fight Forever. The game was in development for years and footage wasn’t released until August 3rd’ 2022. And when the game’s cover art was revealed, CM Punk was on it, front and centre.
Then, after All Out and CM Punk’s suspension, new cover art was commissioned and then released showing other wrestlers and no CM Punk. This has led to speculation that Punk would be further punished for his actions by being removed from Fight Forever completely.
CM Punk to remain as a playable character in AEW Fight Forever
In an exclusive announcement to Sportskeeda, AEW confirmed that CM Punk will still be a playable character in the game.
AEW Fight Forever is being developed by Yuke’s, which is the same company that has developed many wrestling games before. They were responsible for several mid-1990s New Japan games, the SmackDown and SmackDown vs. Raw games, as well as every WWE 2K game until 2K19.
Hideyuki “Geta” Iwashita, who directed both WCW/NOW Revenge and WWF No Mercy (the latter often being called the best wrestling game ever) has been reported to be involved in AEW Fight Forever’s creation.
AEW Fight Forever is being promoted as an arcade-style game and not as a wrestling simulator. It will feature online play, cross-platform play, several different match types, and a full creation suite. The game’s tentative release date is currently set for February 2023.