WWE 2K22 Proving to Hit More of the Same

Anyone who know me will tell you I am one of the biggest wrestling and WWE Game nerds to exist. Even when it’s not the best installment, I can tolerate it enough to create a fantasy of what it once was or what never came to past. All that is to say WWE 2K22 so far looks to be making promises they can’t keep, and it worries me.

WWE 2K fans know that Yuke’s was the face that ran the place for years. From SmackDown vs Raw to WWE 2K19, every installment had its moment to shine while also losing key elements that excited the WWE Universe. Road to WrestleMania, Special Guest Referee, GM Mode, Create a PPV and Story Modes that mattered just to name a few were pulled away for a more “authentic experience.” The problem with this is that it causes the developers to completely miss their audience, leaving fans more disappointed than the Switch version of WWE 2K18.

We’re Working on it

For the first time, 2K pulled the plug on releasing WWE 2K21 due to having to fix the catastrophe known as WWE 2K20. While fans were curious to know about what was to come, 2K stayed in the dark and shared little around the game. Even the yearly WWE 2K Event was cancelled with content creators puzzled as to what happened and why news or footage was scarce. Disappointing the Universe and disgracing the woman’s division, refunds were requested and WWE 2K20 trended for all the wrong reasons.

In an effort to buy time, 2K partnered with Saber Interactive to recreate the arcade mayhem once known as WWE All-Stars with the launch of WWE 2K Battlegrounds. Another game that had potential but lost its way within months.

In efforts to win back the WWE Universe, we’ve seen teasers of what’s to come, along with a tagline “It Hits Different.” There’s one problem with this. We’ve only seen Rey Mysterio and Cesaro so far with graphics that can easily be compared to WWE 2K19. From there, it’s been 3D models and a higher resolution regarding the lighting engine. So technically, yes, it’s different from WWE 2K20, but doesn’t quite steer us towards 2K22.

WWE SummerSlam is a few months away, and this is where we see more content than ever. It’s just weird to not see it more sooner after being promised more dev content since WrestleMania. Now four months away from when WWE 2K would release, all we can do is hope that we receive a game worth playing. Knowing the creativity and quality of Visual Concept’s work around NBA 2K, this will either become the excellence of execution or the last ride.