Has the Wrestling Videogame landscape felt a little lacking for you? Then this announcement will peak your interest as it’s just been confirmed that New Japan Pro Wrestling is collaborating with Fire Pro Wrestling World to have their stars officially debut in their game. Rumours of NJPW looking to expand into gaming were murmured around December, but the news officially broke during the Wrestle Kingdom’s 2018 Fan Festa event.
Fire Pro Wrestling World’s official Twitter account later spread the news even further by confirming the release window for the PS4 version to be available this summer.
Real wrestlers, real moves, real drama: NJPW enters the ring when Fire Pro Wrestling World hits PS4 this summer! pic.twitter.com/k2R7FUMxA0
— FirePro（ファイプロ） (@sc_prowrestling) January 3, 2018
What we know so far is that there will be a story mode where you rise through the ranks to become the top star, and many New Japan favourites will be featured in the game. If we go by Fire Pro’s tweet, we can assume that big draws like Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, and Hiroshi Tanahashi will be there front and centre for you to play as.
From Fire Pro Wrestling World steam page, you can see that this is one of the most robust and detailed wrestling games going. In the game you can;
PLAY ONLINE
Organize exhibition matches, tournaments, leagues, championship bouts and battle royals with players from around the world.
MIX UP THE RULES
Modes include Deathmatch (steel cage, barbed wire or landmines), MMA rules and no-holds-barred Gruesome Fighting.
UNLIMITED CUSTOMIZATION
Create your dream wrestler from over a thousand devastating moves and even more body parts to battle for custom championship belts. Personalize the ring, mat logos and even the referee!
REALISTIC SIMULATION
Give your creations personalities with a robust CPU logic system that defines their every action. Does your wrestler play to the crowd, or play dirty? You provide actors for the ringside drama.
While this doesn’t seem like this will the be the one game to kick WWE of its throne, but this is huge for fans of both NJPW and FPWW. As New Japan grows in popularity, one company should be looking over their shoulder. They might not be top dog for much longer.