A new Insider Gaming investigation has published additional evidence about the troubled development of Ultra Pro Wrestling, challenging several explanations given by Hyperfocus Games founder Sam Vallely after the outlet’s earlier report. The follow-up is based on internal messages, contracts, budget documents and trademark records reviewed by Insider Gaming, alongside a lengthy response Vallely gave to a YouTube channel covering the game. Hyperfocus Games continues to say Ultra Pro Wrestling is actively in development.
The new report follows an earlier investigation into Ultra Pro Wrestling’s development problems, which alleged years of delays, financial issues, missing builds, staff departures and concerns about the project’s animation pipeline. Vallely subsequently spent more than five hours responding to that reporting across two videos, although he declined to answer Insider Gaming directly. The outlet says some portions of his explanation were supported by records, while other claims conflicted with internal messages it reviewed.
One area where the new investigation supports Vallely concerns Hyperfocus Games’ staffing structure. Vallely said he was the company’s only employee, with other contributors working as contractors rather than formal employees. Insider Gaming says the records it reviewed do not contradict that distinction, although some contributors were reportedly unpaid for extended periods and others paid for subscriptions required to complete their work.
The larger dispute continues to concern animation and game data. During his interview, Vallely reportedly denied that animation data had been extracted from other games and argued that such extraction was effectively impossible. Insider Gaming cites a January 2025 internal message in which Vallely discussed loading “toki1” data from AKI wrestling games into Unity and using it to obtain hitbox information, sound-effect timing and other move data.
Toki1 is a data structure contained within older AKI wrestling game ROMs and can be accessed using reverse-engineering tools developed by the modding community. Insider Gaming argues that the information described in Vallely’s own messages constitutes game data derived from those titles, even if that does not independently establish how every Ultra Pro Wrestling animation was created. The outlet also points to a modder who publicly demonstrated that animations can be extracted and transferred to another wrestling-game rig, contradicting Vallely’s broader claim that the process could not be done.
The investigation also raises additional questions about Hyperfocus Games’ use of generative AI. Vallely said AI-generated material would not appear in the finished game and characterized its use as limited primarily to placeholders and presentation material. Insider Gaming says internal records show AI tools being used more broadly during development, including character-image experiments and programming work, with invoices showing almost $400 spent on Anthropic’s Claude over a 13-day period.
Another newly detailed issue concerns spending on professional wrestler Rob Van Dam. According to the report, Hyperfocus Games paid a third-party studio to create models and designs for RVD despite not having him signed to the game’s roster. Internal messages cited by Insider Gaming indicate Vallely hoped showing the wrestler a completed representation of himself might help persuade him to sign.
The report also says D-Von Dudley was publicly announced for Ultra Pro Wrestling before a signed agreement was in place. When Dudley later signed with WWE, internal discussions reportedly focused on whether he should be quietly removed from the roster rather than publicly explaining that he had never formally joined the project. These allegations are based on internal communications reviewed by Insider Gaming and have not been independently confirmed by the wrestlers involved.
A substantial portion of the new investigation also examines development time spent on projects other than Ultra Pro Wrestling itself. Insider Gaming says the team worked on a proposed white-label WWE mobile game for Netflix in late 2024 and later spent weeks in 2026 preparing an AEW Fight Forever sequel pitch. According to the outlet, neither project moved forward, while backers were not told at the time that development resources had been redirected toward those pitches.
Hyperfocus Games currently describes Ultra Pro Wrestling on its official site as being in active development, with core functionality listed as 90% complete and character models at 80%. Vallely has also promised a full gameplay video before the end of September and early access before February. No public playable build has yet been released.
The latest investigation does not establish that Ultra Pro Wrestling has been cancelled or cannot eventually launch. It does, however, add more documentary evidence to questions already surrounding the project’s production methods, spending priorities, staffing and communication with supporters. Hyperfocus Games has not publicly provided a detailed response to the September 16 follow-up report.
