Total Extreme Wrestling is a series of fantasy booking games. Originally known as Extreme Warfare, it's been a popular game for most of it's existence.
Extreme Warfare
Adam Ryland originally developed Extreme Warfare as a collectible card game. However, he switched the game to a computer format to solve the complex nature of the original version.
Overtime, the game would be upgraded. As new games were release in the series, changes were made to improve the game. In Extreme War Deluxe, wrestlers could be hired by any promotion. Rival promotions also got their own AI. A match report screen was added as well.
Extreme Warfare Deluxe was originally going to be the last game in the series. However, Adam changed his mind and began working on Extreme Warfare Revenge. The new game took a new Windows style interface. New features included the ability of the player to control events, a new feud system, the ability to book angles, and a promotion size feature.
Until July 2003, new features were added through updates. Three in-game websites were added: one focused on other promotions, one focused on backstage gossip, and one focused on the user-controlled promotion. Relationships between workers were added. Contracts were changed so that workers could be put on PPA deals so they could work elsewhere, such as on Japanese cards on a touring contract.
Due to the game's size, Ryland felt that in order to give it new features he'd have to make a new game from scratch. Turning his hobby into a commercial venture, he signed with .400 Software Studios and began working on a new game.
Total Extreme Warfare
On March 31, 2004, the new Total Extreme Warfare game was released. A number of new features were included. In previous games, North America was the only playable area (Japan was included, but wasn't playable). Total Extreme Warfare added Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia, and made Japan playable. Because of this, the overness feature was altered. Players could see what matches the AI had booked. New contract clauses such as medical and travel coverage was included. Booking was also improved, with the player now unable to book matches such as 11 hour long Iron Man matches on a 2 hour show. Players could also create matches and gimmicks.
Due to copyright issues by going commercial, the series could no longer use things from the real world. Instead, a fictitious wrestling world known as the CornellVerse was created. This world was named after Tommy Cornell, one of the best workers in the game. Cornell was based on a character Ryland had used in E-Feds.
The game was renamed to Total Extreme Wrestling 2004 to distinguish the old EWR series from the new TEW series. Ryland moved to Grey Dog Software, with his first game there being the first Wrestling Spirit game. Following .400 Software Studios closing on January 1, 2006, Total Extreme Wrestling 2004 was taken off the market entirely. There are no plans to make it freeware or shareware.
Total Extreme Wrestling 2005
The first TEW game to be released under Grey Dog Software was Total Extreme Wrestling 2005. Released on October 6, 2005, it included a number of new features. Advanced booking, a momentum meter, and a grading system were added to improve the game. Broadcasting deals were improved. The Pay-Per-View feature was more similar to real life. A new editor allowed the player to customize the game world more.
TEW 2005 became freeware on July 1, 2009.
Total Extreme Wrestling
On December 29, 2006, Total Extreme Wrestling 2007 was released. New features such as the ability to customize merchandise was added. Unlike the previous games which were made from scratch, TEW 2007 was built on top of TEW 2005's source code.
Total Extreme Wrestling 2008 was released on June 7, 2008. It included more than 100 changes and additions. Players were also able to convert their TEW 2007 databases over to TEW 2008.
On January 25, 2010, Total Extreme Wresting 2010 was released. New features included a revamp of backstage morale, and several changes to improve the interface and lower the time it took to navigate through the game and book a show.
On December 16, 2012, Grey Dog Software released Total Extreme Wrestling 2013. New features included the autobooker, Fog Of War, tribute shows, shoot interviews, legacies, and several other changes to make the game more realistic. More options were available for users to edit in the database.
The latest release in the Total Extreme Wrestling series in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016. Released on May 2, 2016, the game had over 360 changes. These changes include alliance titles, company figureheads, a Japanese weight split, workers taking a hiatus to take an MMA fight, and more.
A New Decade
On December 8, 2018, Adam announced Total Extreme Wrestling 2020. The game is set to be released either around Christmas 2019 or the summer of 2020. Unlike it's recent predecessors, the game will once again be built from the ground up. It is expected to blow TEW 2016 out of the water.