After the disastrous WWE 2K20, 2K has decided to release as arcade-style, never before seen wresting game called WWE 2K Battlegrounds. Due to the current situation, they are not being able to launch the annual WWE game WWE 2K21 this fall. But they have announced that they are hoping to release the WWE 2K22 in the next fall. They have also added that this title would not have the traditional simulation style that the previous games had featured.
Learning from the technical issues that the WWE 2K20 had, one of their producers have claimed that 2K is taking inspiration from classic wrestling games as they develop WWE 2K22, like WWE SmackDown: Here Comes The Pain, which was launched on the PlayStation 2 back in 2003 and WWF No Mercy, released in 2000, for the Nintendo 64.
2K’s Patrick Gilmore said during a recent Reddit AMA that they are now observing the classics like No Mercy or Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain, and other top franchise installments, and some more modern wrestling and fighting games to establish a unique philosophical foundation for the title. He also said that people will be disappointed if they are hoping for a total revival of the control scheme or philosophy from one of their favorite games as they are blending all the great ideas and features to craft an all-new wrestling experience to set a new standard.
He clarified that WWE 2K22 will be built around these following principles:
- Making the core gameplay feel better than it ever has.
- Making the best and most realistic looking WWE superstars.
- Better physics and more generic object and environment systems that’ll enable more spectacular gameplay.
- Delivering a better, more realistic end-to-end WWE experience.
- Improving all aspects of online matches.
- An upgraded creation suite and community creation tools that feel like magic to use.
The most common issue that the players have with these WWE annual games is that as the game’s character models are mostly completed several months before the actual game is released, it feels quite outdated. That is why 2K will implement live roster updates, just like their other annual sports games, such as their most popular one: NBA 2K.
Though 2K has not mentioned anything about the GM Mode, which was removed over a decade ago despite its huge popularity, it is safe to presume that the mode can make a comeback in WWE 2K22.
