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I remember growing up on wrestling games like Smackdown vs Raw. The joy of slamming my friends through a Hell in a Cell or choke-slamming my younger siblings through a table will always be a highlight of my early gaming life. Couch co-op wrestling is a joy that will never really fade. With the release of AEW Fight Forever, the glory days of competitive wrestling with friends are back with us, but can it be played cross-platform, opening up the arena to multiple consoles?
Is AEW Fight Forever cross-play?
Image via Steam
AEW Fight Forever will not be cross-play, so there won’t be any fighting between consoles or PCs. However, there will be cross-generational play, so it will be possible if you want to play AEW between generations of the same console. Why there isn’t cross-platform play isn’t really clear at this point. However, it does somewhat limit the possibilities of online play.
Wrestling games have never really been famous for their storylines and are usually sold based on their multiplayer capabilities. AEW Fight Forever limiting their online play to console-specific cross-play will reduce the appeal for players.
There do seem to be a lot of technical difficulties with allowing cross-play in sports games. Fifa 23 was the first one in the multi-billion dollar franchise to feature cross-play. I think this is wild, considering how long the tech has been there. You would be forgiven for thinking that games dedicated almost entirely to online play would want to jump on the technology early.
Will it ever feature cross-play?
It is unlikely that AEW Fight Forever will ever have cross-play enabled. As the technology develops, later AEW games may implement the feature, allowing players on PC and the various consoles to suplex each other off the top rope. Until then, you’ll just have to wait. At least there is still couch co-op, my favorite way to play.
