Summary
- WrestleQuest developers had wanted to include Street Fighter's Zangief and Starman from NES Pro Wrestling, but they are not part of the game or its upcoming DLC plans.
- The developers hinted at future DLC and sequels for WrestleQuest, keeping some ideas on hold for potential releases.
- Though Zangief and Starman aren't in the game, WrestleQuest still features wrestling legends like Jeff Jarrett, Junkyard Dog, Randy Savage, and Andre the Giant.
The WrestleQuest developers have named Street Fighter's Zangief and Starman from the 1986 NES Pro Wrestling video game as two characters they wanted to include in the new pro wrestling/JRPG hybrid. WrestleQuest sees players battling and recruiting many of professional wrestling's real-world legends, but if the developers had their way, the game would have also included some memorable video game characters as well.
The Best War Games recently spoke with WrestleQuest's developers and wrestling legend Jeff Jarrett, who is actually in the game as a character and has served as the Executive Producer of Wrestling for the game. During the interview, Jeff Jarrett and the WrestleQuest developers teased huge DLC that's in the works for the game. They also spoke about characters they would have liked to include but were ultimately unable to secure for the game, like Zangief and Starman.
Mega Cat's James Deighan pointed to Street Fighter's Zangief and Starman specifically as two video game wrestling legends that he hoped could've been added to the game. "When you think about the intersection of wrestling and gaming, I'd say Zangief's up there. Zangief's on our wish list. Starman from the NES Pro Wrestling game was on our wish list." This means that Zangief and Starman aren't part of the WrestleQuest DLC plans that were teased, but the developers are already looking to the future.
During the same interview, the developers indicated that they had to save some ideas for potential WrestleQuest DLC or sequels. They didn't reveal any specifics about what will actually be included in the WrestleQuest DLC, but did say that controversial wrestling personality Jim Cornette is also on their wish list of people they wanted to feature.
While Jim Cornette, Zangief, and Starman aren't in WrestleQuest, the good news is that there are still many other wrestling legends featured in the game. This includes the aforementioned Jeff Jarrett, as well as Junkyard Dog, Randy Savage, and Andre the Giant. Pro wrestling fans will be able to encounter these wrestling legends for themselves a little bit later this month when the WrestleQuest release date rolls around.
WrestleQuest was originally slated to release on August 8, but the release date was delayed at the last minute so the developers could address a serious bug that could potentially wipe players' save data. Wrestling fans who have been looking forward to the game were no doubt disappointed by this news, but they are likely happy that when it comes out on August 22, they won't have to worry about losing their hard-earned progress.
WrestleQuest launches August 22 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.