[citation needed] Later that month, Hiromi Furuta, senior producer at Yuke's, stated that WWF No Mercy was a key influence due to its popularity with fans of the genre, and that Fight Forever was not intended to rival the WWE 2K series.

[17] Despite his departure from AEW in February 2022 and subsequent return to the WWE at WrestleMania 38, former executive vice-president Cody Rhodes remained part of the base roster as an unlockable wrestler in Fight Forever.

[21][22] On June 22, 2023, AEW Senior Vice President Nik Sobic stated in an interview with SEScoops that the decision was made early on to hand-animate the moves instead of using motion capture technology.

He also mentioned that if the team had unlimited time, the game would have featured full rosters from both AEW and NJPW, adding that if Fight Forever performed well and the fans requested it, there would be opportunities for crossover updates in the future.

In the same interview, THQ Nordic producer David Knudsen pushed back on rumors that blood was removed due to issues with the ESRB.

[24] The contents of the Elite Edition was also revealed and made available for digital pre-order that same day, containing the Matt Hardy pre-order bonus, a one-day early access before wide release and the Season One Pass, which itself includes FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood), "Limitless" Keith Lee, The Bunny, Hook, and Danhausen, as well as four additional mini-games.

[25] In July 2023, a new Stadium Stampede mode was announced as part of a free update, loosely based on the match stipulation of the same name but presented as an online multiplayer battle royale game mode for up to 30 players to fight in an open arena environment set in a stadium, where players can level up, customize weapon loadouts and skills, with item chests and vehicles, with visual comparisons being made to games like Fortnite.

[29] In February 2024, Season Pass Three was announced featuring Swerve Strickland, Claudio Castagnoli, and Jamie Hayter, a new arena with a ring set at beachside and various additional wrestling moves, music tracks, skins and clothing options for customizing.

[30] In May 2024, Season Pass Four was released, featuring Adam Copeland, Jay White, Samoa Joe, two new arenas, a new tournament game mode and various additional wrestling moves, music tracks, skins and clothing options for customizing.

[31] On August 3, 2022, AEW and THQ Nordic released an official teaser for the game, along with the cover art featuring CM Punk, Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, and Jade Cargill.

[38] In March 2023, at a press conference following the Revolution event, Tony Khan stated that Fight Forever was complete, and that they would announce a release date soon.

[41] On May 22, 2023, in a special video message from Kenny Omega, it was announced that Fight Forever would release internationally on June 29, 2023, with pre-orders and pre-loads officially commencing that same day.

[43][44][45][46] Polygon's Hector Diaz lauded the arcade style of gameplay, favorably comparing it to classic wrestling titles such as the AKI developed WWF No Mercy and WCW/nWo Revenge, and early games in the WWE SmackDown!

"[53] Justin Clarke of Slant Magazine considered the gameplay noticeably different from the WWE 2K series, with particular praise to the hardcore match types such as the Lights Out and Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch as highlights, saying they "[push] the envelope in ways wrestling games haven't in years".

[50] Marcus Stewart of Game Informer criticized the mode, particularly the side activities and cutscenes between matches as being repetitive, while also finding many options were redundant when playing as non-custom player created wrestlers.

[55] Responding to a fan on Twitter, Kenny Omega acknowledged criticisms of the game, stating there would be continued future support, encouraging fixes and rebalancing.