It’s not often a broken game should be praised, but that’s exactly the flowersWWE 2K20deserves. At launch, the game was a disaster—but it was the impetus for Visual Concepts to take a year off from the annualized series, get its fundamentals down, and come back bigger than ever withWWE 2K22. That momentum carried forward withWWE 2K23and even further withWWE 2K24. For the past few months, fans may have hoped for news onWWE 2K25, but 2K and Visual Concepts have been quiet on that front. Like an eventual Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk match, it’s just a matter of time.
The only real update fans have received on the title comes from Take-Two Interactive’s August 2024 financial report, where it was confirmed thatWWE 2K25was in developmentand would release in Q1 2025. This means it’ll be released by the end of March, but given thatWWE 2K22, WWE 2K23, andWWE 2K24also released in March, that’s not surprising at all. In many ways, fans can expectWWE 2K25to roll out in a similar manner to its past games, and that’s the safest expectation. Getting into its possible content, though, is where everything goes out the window, like when The Rock returned ahead of WrestleMania 40.
WWE 2K25: The Basics Are Easy Enough to Predict
When it comes to news and marketing, it’s easy enough to bet on the basics. Fans can expect news as the Road to WrestleMania begins, they can expect trailers and news to proliferate in that space until release, and fans can expectWWE 2K25to release in March 2025. Fans can also expect each superstar’s rating to roll out similarly to past years. Beyond that, it gets a little shaky. If we were to narrow down its release date any, it’s worth noting that the previous entries all released on the second Tuesday or second Friday of March 2025. March 11 or March 14 feels possible then, but since anything could make this shift around, there’s nothing wrong with just looking forward to March as a whole.
Cover Star and Special Feature
The leading news will likely be its cover star and special feature. Every recentWWE 2Kgame has led with these, althoughWWE 2K22is a little different. Basically, everything was new aboutWWE 2K22, but arguably the return of MyGM mode was the feather in its cap.WWE 2K23’s special feature was WarGames, whileWWE 2K24emphasized a plethora of new match types. WhatWWE 2K25’s “feather in the cap” is remains to be seen. It’s impossible to predict, but fans can expect this reveal early on.
In my opinion, thecover star ofWWE 2Kgamesshould be someone who can really draw in the audience. I also like how Showcase can be used to highlight their career, although the two do not have to be intertwined. It was for Rey Mysterio and John Cena, but not necessarily for Cody Rhodes and the Showcase of the Immortals. He certainly has his role in it, but Rhodes being on theWWE 2K24cover and losing the last match of its Showcasealways rubbed me the wrong way. Tangent aside, fans can expect the cover star to also be revealed early, but as to who that is remains to be seen.
Personal Cover Star Wish List
Furthermore, a Roman Reigns and/or CM Punk Showcase being narrated by Paul Heyman would be fantastic.
WWE 2K Game Modes Will Likely Follow the Formula
Again, while exact content is hard to predict, fans can expect the slew of game modes to return. A new game mode feels unlikely, but if it were to happen, chances are it would be the “special feature” that Visual Concepts and 2K pushes in its marketing. Otherwise, fans can expect the normal array of features:
WWE 2K25 Showcase
Unless Visual Concepts has a special plan, which is hard to picture exactly outside theShowcase of the Immortals, chances are the Showcase will focus on the career of the cover star. It’ll largely focus on past matches, not more recent ones, although both are certainly possible to some degree.
What’ll be interesting to see is how VC countersWWE 2K’s biggest Showcase weakness. While seeing the career of a cover star can be nostalgia, there’s an inherent weakness in that every match requires that superstar. Rey Mysterio’s Showcase was fantastic, but it was inherently repetitive. With John Cena, fans played match-ups he lost, but not every superstar is going to be that humble. Of course,WWE 2K24’s Showcase of the Immortals explored the best matches in Mania history. In theory, this could also work for something like Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble, or SummerSlam, but that’s in “impossible to predict” territory.
WWE 2K25 MyRise
Like in past years, fans can expect MyRise to continue its focus on two campaigns: one for men wrestlers, one for women wrestlers. It would be great to see bigger and more impactful choices that aren’t just pursuing certain storylines to a basic end, but otherwise, the stories told here can be fun.Roman Reigns' role inWWE 2K24’s Undisputed MyRise modewas second to none and honestly felt like a preview of a post-WrestleMania 40 world. While the story could go in any direction, adjusting or touching real-world WWE storylines would be awesome. Some ideas that could be cool:
Really, any real-world or completely fabricated storyline could work, but it’ll be interesting to see which way WWE 2K25’s story goes regardless.
WWE 2K25 Improvements
Overall, across the board, fans can expect a handful of improvements from gameplay mechanics to game modes. It’s important, however, to remember thatWWE 2Kis an annualized series and to ground all expectations in that. Improvements are likely to be incremental and not revolutionary, but with the solid foundation of recentWWE 2Kgames, that’s enough to be excited for the upcoming entry in the franchise.
