Could Acclaim Save Rumbleverse?

If you've been playing video games for a while now (decades), you might remember a company called:

Acclaim Logo

They published some big hits from the 90's and into the early 2000s, providing a few staples of N64 and PS2 collections around the world.

• Turok

• Burnout

• NBA Jam

They're also no strangers to working in the world of Wrestling, having made 2 ECW games (although this did not end well for them when ECW went out of business), and then 3 Legends of Wrestling games.

Unfortunately, in 2004, they filed for bankruptcy protections and shortly after, were forced to sell off their assets and close down due to low sales...

BUT, now they are back! A group of executives purchased the Acclaim trademark and plan to relaunch the brand as an indie game publisher. One of those executives happens to be Jeff Jarrett - a veteran pro wrestler himself that is currently working for All Elite Wrestling. AEW is the second largest wrestling company in the world, and one that is actively looking to produce more wrestling video games!

If only there were an incredible wrestling game that was seeking a publisher right now...

Well, thanks to the Rumbleverse Revival movement, we at the very least know that our favourite grappling game has their attention. The Acclaim discord has been slightly overwhelmed with... well intentioned Rumbleverse fans, to the point that a few of them had to be removed (at least temporarily). That said, several staff members of Acclaim have read and replied to the requests of Rumbleverse community members:

At the time of publishing this article, this message is pinned in the official Acclaim discord.

At the time of publishing this article, this message is also pinned in the official Acclaim discord.

Of course, they cannot outright confirm that Rumbleverse will return currently... but they also aren't exactly denying it either.

SalamiAttack is listed as a Sr. Mod and Employee of Acclaim on their official Discord.

Acclaim is having a Showcase event on September 10th, where they will reveal the first set of games they are publishing. You can find a link to it here if you'd like to watch:

During this livestream, there's a small chance that we might hear something about Rumbleverse. Quite tiny if we're being honest, as other comments seem to suggest that Acclaim will be focusing on brand new games, rather than reviving old series to start.

Additionally, for better or for worse, they acknowledged that they played Rumbleverse when it was available, and understand there are many reasons that the game was canceled. On the upside, some of the people there have experience working with Iron Galaxy already from previous jobs, and have a great relationship with them.

Ultimately, it seems that there is interest from the side of Acclaim, but Iron Galaxy owns Rumbleverse and it will be up to them to work out an agreement if we are to see Grapital City again. The chances are low that we see anything during the September 10th live stream, but that doesn't mean there aren't any talks going on in the background still. Perhaps it won't be now, but later is still a possibility.

Whether or not you think Acclaim will announce something Rumbleverse related today, I would still suggest checking out their live stream when it airs. Acclaim has published some incredible games in the past, and chances are they've come back to do it again.

*Please do not harass Acclaim employees or channels to bring back Rumbleverse. They are aware and a reminder on occasion is good, but spamming will do no favour to anyone.

Iron Galaxy Q&A Acknowledges Potential for Rumbleverse Return!

Iron Galaxy posted another edition of #MeetIronGalaxy, a Q&A session with Audio Manager Michael Metz, who worked on Rumbleverse. I'll give an overview of any info pertaining to Rumbleverse, but you can read the full article for yourself here:

https://www.irongalaxystudios.com/blog-posts/meetirongalaxy---michael-metz

I'll cut to the chase and talk about the biggest bombshell quote from the article first. Michael mentions being proud of the music and sound he worked on for Rumbleverse, and ends by saying quote "RIP Rumbleverse (for now)!"

This is a great reassurance once again that Iron Galaxy wants Rumbleverse to return; Michael feels there is a chance and Iron Galaxy seemingly endorses this by including the quote in their transcription of the Q&A. This is the most direct acknowledgement that Iron Galaxy still wants the game to return since it was mentioned in the shutdown announcement! It is also one of a handful of small recent events that may have Grapital City hopefuls buzzing.

Iron Galaxy has mentioned Rumbleverse in various Q&As and presentations over the years, but their main social media account has not directly mentioned Rumbleverse since it's shutdown. They have not posted on any anniversaries, for instance. This is not an indication that they don't want to bring back Rumbleverse, but likely rather that mentioning it may give people false hope of a return (they see that Rumbleverse already gets spammed in their replies). But there has a been a change in the wind recently:

Iron Galaxy's main account on Twitter recently started following Rumbleverse Warrior (@RumbleverseWar), who you may know started the Grapital City Outcasts community on Twitter and Discord. His goal, and the goal of the community, is not just to remember Rumbleverse but to attempt to bring it back by building interest on social media. Iron Galaxy does not usually follow fans and would know these intentions when choosing to follow him. This also comes after Adam Heart (Keits) started streaming Rumbleverse compilations on Twitch this past summer, which have since stopped for now. (SaveRumbleverse.com has articles on the Grapital City Outcasts community and Keits' streams if you want to know more).

There seems to be a change in how Iron Galaxy is acknowledging Rumbleverse. While this is by no means a confirmation of an imminent return, it is at least encouraging to see further and recent proof that Iron Galaxy still wishes for Rumbleverse to return.

Here are some other fun Rumbleverse tidbits from the article: Michael was tasked to help with the game's plot points; while most of his ideas never made it to the game, he did come up with the names of both "Skip Leggerday" and "Low Key Key". The Rumbleverse themes and music were intended to be based on hip hop but be unique to the game's brand and not sound too old or too new. The article also notes that the internal dev team loved the sound of the heart coins in Rumbleverse (used for the snowball fight game mode) that Michael introduced.

A Message from Skip Leggerday - And Where You Can Get One Too

We haven't heard from Skip Leggerday in a while, but technically it turns out that we can choose to at any time. He'll require some Squaaaats! money for the appearance though. Can't perform on an empty stomach!

Not long ago, someone from Project KO contacted Dave Fennoy, who voiced Skip to do a Cameo in his voice. He provides a positive and hopeful take on the idea of the game coming back (I'm sure he'd like more voice work as well), and maybe unknowingly encourages something he shouldn't... but hey... if the game comes back, it's all water under the bridge. Take a listen:

If you're interested in hearing Skip say anything (within reason) that you would want to hear from him, you too can get your own Cameo from the legend himself:

https://www.cameo.com/davefennoyvo

From the YouTube video description, the Project KO account provides a general cost that you could expect to pay:

INFO: The base price is $65, it costs an additional $17 to add up to a maximum of 650 characters. The maximum package price including the service fee totals up to $90.20

We're not sure which currency this is in, but take a look at the site linked yourself and you'll find what it would cost you.

So, what would you want to hear most from Skip Leggerday himself?