There will be no WWE 2K video game released this year.
WWE today confirmed that there will be no WWE 2K21 released this fall. Near the very end of today’s Q1 financial briefing, Frank A. Riddick III, the interim chief financial officer of WWE, confirmed that there would be no launch of a game this year. This would mark the first time since 1997 that a WWE video game won’t be released annually.
WWE Games’ Twitter account, which is handled by video game publisher 2K, wrote the following after the briefing: “We will be sharing details on the future of the WWE 2K franchise as well as some exciting news on Monday at 7:00 a.m. PT.”
Justin Lepper, a former writer for the WWE Raw vs. SmackDown video game series, reported earlier this month that there would be no WWE 2K21. He mentioned 2K is working on another game not developed by WWE 2K developer Visual Concepts. That game was not mentioned in today’s WWE conference call.
Yukes, the longtime developer of WWE games dating back to the SmackDown video game series on the original PlayStation, is no longer involved in the development of WWE’s video games.
WWE 2K20, which was released in October for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC received lackluster reviews, averaging 43 percent on Metacritic.
When I saw the first trailer for WWE 2K20, I had a relatively simple question: will it be fun?
The reason is that the 2K series has struggled to deal with that answer with its last few entries and while some dismiss the series in total, I go into each new release in the series hoping key changes are made.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this year.
2K’s rollout of information pertaining to WWE 2K20 was frustrating. In hindsight, it probably was a sign. The roster, downloadable content, and special editions were rolled out over time, but we didn’t get an official trailer highlighting gameplay until three weeks before launch.
The Glitches
WWE 2K20 is a broken, disjointed, buggy mess of a game. While other entries in the 2K series have had their share of bugs that have been shared on social media over the years, 2K20 takes these long-standing issues and cranks them up to 11.
Several times during gameplay, I had to restart a match because the characters involved got stuck in an infinite loop hitting each other with the same offense over and over. The game is prone to crash as well. In one example, I had spent about 30 minutes creating a moveset for my create-a-wrestler only for the game to crash when it couldn’t load the preview of one of the moves. I soured on the creative aspect of the game pretty quickly after that.
There were other weird technical issues I experienced as well. One time during an entrance, the camera panned to the crowd and half of one section didn’t load. Another time, a character’s story mode came out looking like she had a skin disorder because the lighting was all screwed up.
There’s also this involving Finn Balor never breaking a pin and suddenly becoming impervious to interference. And really, this is just the tip of the iceberg compared to otherglitches and bugs that have been shared on social media.
Some of this can be attributed to Yukes, the longtime developer of the series dating back to the first SmackDown game on the PS1, not taking part in the development of this year’s game. I’m not sure if they joined development and left or just didn’t contribute at all, but it’s clear there were development issues as they are plainly visible for everyone to see.
2K is aware of these issues and released a statement saying that they will have an initial patch released in the next two weeks. I am hopeful that this fixes the more glaring problems that have been described.
The Gameplay
Beyond the glitches, the actual gameplay remains a mixed bag. Something that had been a thorn in my side for years was the reversal system as the game punishes you constantly for either hitting the reversal button too quickly or too slowly. That has been toned down considerably in 2K20 which is a welcome addition.
Still, much like previous entries in the series, playing matches in 2K20 tedious. Some match types, particularly multi-man ones like triple threat matches, take way too long to clear. The game’s AI doesn’t really help matters much either. Whenever I laid a wrestler out, they take way too long to recover. Sometimes, they just stand around and attack the air and other times, they suddenly become ultrasmart, reversing any offense and suddenly taking control for long portions of the match. To say that it is inconsistent is an understatement.
The Characters & Story Mode
One of the positives of the 2K series is that there are no shortage of wrestlers to choose from. There are well over 200 characters on the roster this year, including some that haven’t been in a WWE game in years like Chyna.
However, the character models this year look way off compared to previous games in the series. Take a look at some of the models. That looks nothing like Dusty Rhodes. And holy hell, what is with Kurt Angle? Are we sure that’s Molly Holly? The character models in these games are never 100% on point, but this year’s entries look far worse than last year’s release.
I do have to give praise to MyCareer, the game’s story mode. It follows the careers of friends Red and Tre as they recount the story of their career as they prepare to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. They start from the bottom, traveling to Canada for their first gigs to eventually joining NXT, getting to the main roster, and encountering all of the big WWE stars.
It’s definitely corny at times, and somehow despite taking place over a number of years, both Tre and Red never actually age. But the characters and story are endearing in their goofiness and it compelled me to play further. There’s also a few cool cameos from past and present WWE stars that are a nice addition. If anything, this was the highlight of this year’s release.
Showcase mode, where you play and recreate matches from the past, focuses on the Four Horsewomen from their time in NXT to their individual runs in WWE. I think the idea and the topic are fantastic, but in execution, it can be kind of a chore. In order to advance, you have to complete a series of objectives, mostly those that relate to the actual real-life match. That structure (which is also in the story mode) can be suffocating at times, and, as mentioned earlier, can take a very, very long time to actually accomplish.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to show bugs and glitches on social media and come to the conclusion that this is a bad game. Now that I’ve spent time playing it, I can safely say that WWE 2K20 is a seriously flawed mess that highlights all of the series’ worst problems. There’s actually a fun game deep down in here somewhere, but in its current state, it’s absolutely not worth the risk. On the Meltzer scale, it’s somewhere around the * range.
Joseph Currier looks at Rey Mysterio’s current WWE run and the value he could still have to the company. Plus, Vinny’s TV reviews.
After three years away from the company, Mysterio made his full-time return to WWE last fall. His current run hasn’t been a failure, but this is the time when he’s freshest to WWE and the fans. That hasn’t really been capitalized on.
Mysterio won the US title from Samoa Joe at Money in the Bank, but his reign never got a chance to begin. He had to vacate the title after separating his shoulder. Wherever WWE was going with Mysterio’s son Dominick being by his side against Joe, that’s seemingly been dropped. When Mysterio returned, he was demolished by Bobby Lashley in his first match back.
Mysterio also participated in a number one contender’s battle royal last month, with Rollins winning and advancing to challenge Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Mysterio defeated Zayn at Raw Reunion, though the segment was mostly about returning legends getting to appear. RVD, Sgt. Slaughter, The Hurricane, and Kurt Angle stopped Zayn from walking out. Mysterio then hit the 619 and a frog splash to get the win.
Raw Reunion capitalized on the nostalgia of returning wrestlers from previous eras. Mysterio appearing on the same episode as them showed how much of an opportunity WWE is missing with him. Even at 44 years old, Mysterio is such an incredible in-ring performer. He can still be one of the most marketable people on the roster and one of the wrestlers with the most mainstream appeal. He can still connect as a top babyface. He’s a Hall of Fame wrestler that still has a ton of value to the company. WWE moved on from John Cena too quickly when he should have had time left as a top star, and they shouldn’t make the same mistake with Mysterio.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has details on WWE’s second quarter financials. Financially, things look great. But product popularity continues to fall, slowly but steadily.
We cover how WWE was able to beat most projections and bring in higher profits in the second quarter, even with most key metrics showing declines.
We discuss how the company’s finances look going forward, as well as two big television deals on the horizon.
We also have news on what could end up being the most important pro wrestling show of the year, AEW’s TV debut. We break down the two key busiess aspects to the story, and discuss what those in the TV industry expect in terms of ratings for the show.
We cover Jerry Lawler’s lawsuit against Hardeman County, TN regarding the death of son Brian one year ago.
The new issue also covers C.M. Punk and the rumor mill that seems to follow him everywhere. We talk about the reaction to his discussion of AEW in a recent interview, as well as those who say they expect him to go back to WWE.
We also have the latest on the SummerSlam card, and how the show is doing on the secondary ticket market. We also cover how the other WWE shows in Toronto that week are doing in terms of ticket sales.
We have coverage of UFC 240 from this past weekend, and have business notes on nthe show, and also detailed television ratings for the prelims.
There’s also a run down of the ratings of all the major TV shows, along with detailed demo info for the WWE shows and results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
by Joseph Currier and Bryan Rose
WWE
SmackDown again underwent changes this week, with Vince McMahon tearing up the show and having it rewritten today. Dave Meltzer noted that Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Daniel Bryan & Rowan is the latest main event planned for the show. It’s taking place at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Kevin Owens inviting Shane McMahon to be on the KO Show has also been announced, and Kingston will respond to Randy Orton’s comments in an exclusive interview.
205 Live will have a six-pack challenge that will determine Drew Gulak’s challenger for SummerSlam. That will feature Akira Tozawa, Kalisto, Tony Nese, Oney Lorcan, Ariya Daivari, and Jack Gallagher. Lince Dorado will also face Humberto Carrillo in a singles match.
Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that Bobby Lashley recently underwent surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow and is on track to return in early November.
Roman Reigns told ESPN that he disagrees with the comments Jon Moxley has made about the WWE creative process: “I’ll tell you straight-up: I disagree with what Ambrose said about the creative process. I love the guy. I love him to death. He’s my brother. And wrestling ain’t gonna stop that. On a personal level, me and that dude can hang out, have a beer or two and just talk. And even when we don’t talk, that’s just our relationship. When it comes down to it, creative-wise, that’s on you. Communication is communication. When you go in there and you talk to boss, you gotta let him know. He even made comments about the things I had to say, but that was in a different place. I was brand-new. We’ve worked our asses off for Vince in this company, and he respects that, and he wants to know our opinions. You have to speak up for yourself. I’m in a position now where he listens to everything I have to say, what I’m feeling. Early on, when you don’t have any equity, when you haven’t put in any time, you should do what the boss says. But once you earn that equity, once you got the keys to the car — which Ambrose was clearly in that position because all three of us [were] — you have to speak up for yourself and do what’s right for you. Regardless, I love the dude, man. We came from the bottom and got to where we are now, and he’s a huge part of that. No type of business rivalry or any of that crap will ever affect the personal relationship I have with either Seth or Dean. We’re all gonna do our thing. We’re having fun. I’m enjoying where I’m at. I enjoy being with the WWE. I’ll never be anywhere else.”
2K confirmed to VGC that developer Visual Concepts is exclusively working on WWE 2K20, meaning that for the first time in 20 years longtime developer Yukes has no involvement. They had been involved with developing games with the WWE license since the first SmackDown video game for the original PlayStation console. Yukes earlier this year announced that they were working on an original wrestling IP.
Mark Evans, Fox Sports’ Senior Vice President of Sales, told The Big Lead that Fox isn’t concerned about WWE’s downward ratings trend. Evans said: “We feel how we’re going to present and how we’re going to promote the WWE is going to inject it with such a new life. It’s going to be a home run for us.”
Titus O’Neil’s “There’s No Such Thing as a Bad Kid: How I went from Stereotype to Prototype” book was released today.
WWE issued a storyline injury update on Seth Rollins, noting that he’s been cleared to wrestle at SummerSlam despite being beaten down by Brock Lesnar again last night.
Steve Austin appeared on ESPN’s First Take to promote next Monday’s premiere of Straight Up Steve Austin on the USA Network.
Pro Wrestling
Jushin Thunder Liger and Brian Pillman Jr. will face off in a six-man tag match at Defy Wrestling’s Defyance Forever show in Tacoma, Washington on August 23. It will be Liger, Karl Fredericks & Alex Coughlin vs. Pillman, Ethan HD & Mike Santiago.
Timothy Thatcher has been announced for MLW’s War Chamber show in North Richland Hills, Texas on September 7.
This week’s MLW Fusion episode is now available on YouTube. Thatcher faced Davey Boy Smith Jr. in the main event.
Disney announced today that when Disney+ is launched on November 12, there will be an option to bundle Disney+, ESPN+ and the ad-supported version of Hulu for $12.99 per month.
Jason “Mayhem” Miller has been sentenced to one year in jail on a felony count of vandalism after destroying a home in La Habra, California.
Becky Lynch and Roman Reigns have officially been unveiled as the cover stars for WWE 2K20.
Lynch and Reigns will both be on the cover of the video game, which is set to be released worldwide for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on Tuesday, October 22. This is the first time two wrestlers have shared the cover since WWE’s partnership with 2K Sports began in 2013, and Lynch is the first woman to be a cover star for the WWE 2K series.
AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, Steve Austin, John Cena, and The Rock have previously been featured on the cover of WWE 2K games.
There will be a Women’s Evolution 2K Showcase mode that follows the careers of Lynch, Bayley, Charlotte Flair, and Sasha Banks. 2K Sports is also touting the following list of features:
The debut of WWE 2K20 Originals, a collection of 2K Showcase downloadable content designed to let players explore new playable worlds and experience unique themes beyond what’s available at WWE 2K20’s launch.
The ability to compete as male and female Superstars in MyCareer and Mixed Tag Team Matches.
The return of WWE Towers mode, including an all-new Tower inspired by the storied career of Roman Reigns.
Updated controls to make WWE 2K20 more accessible to new players.
The Deluxe Edition of WWE 2K20 “contains a copy of the game with special packaging, a complete set of WWE 2K20 Originals, access to the Accelerator, MyCareer Kickstart, WWE SuperCard limited edition cards, additional digital content offerings including the WWE 2K debut of Chyna as a playable character, and more.”
The Collector’s Edition “pays homage to the 20th Anniversary of SmackDown and contains the same features as the Deluxe Edition plus exclusive and rare collectibles.”
2K Sports’ cover reveal commercial for WWE 2K20 is available to watch below:
