By Eden Lawrence
On March 14, 2K Games will release their new wrestling game, WWE 2K25. A lot of hype has been built up for this game, and it’s shaping up to be a good one. This doesn’t mean that it is without fault, as certain features are leaving a sour taste in consumer’s mouths.
One major change that 2K Games announced was the implementation of intergender matches. Typically, in WWE games, male wrestlers could only fight the same gender, and the same with the women. However, 2K Games stated that this barrier will be gone in 2K25. This gives more freedom to the players, allowing them to make whatever match they want, regardless of gender.
In both professional and amateur wrestling promotions, it isn’t uncommon to have people of different genders face each other in a match. I think this is great for breaking down barriers, however, men and women don’t wrestle with each other in WWE.
In 2008, WWE switched up its programming to cater more to a childlike audience. Some of these changes included removing curse words, blood, and intergender matches, only using these things as shock value. This would be replicated in their video games as well, even with a T for Teen rating.
Although a great change, I can’t say that this decision entices me to buy the game. Other wrestling leagues have been broadcasting intergender matches for a while now. The decision for WWE to only allow these types of matches in their games does not demonstrate their full commitment to the format. It feels like they aren’t fully committed to breaking down the gender barrier completely.
People were excited to have intergender wrestling but were left disappointed to find out that the game would still be released on last-generation consoles, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.
The PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One operate on older, weaker hardware compared to their popular successors: the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S. Because of these differences, certain features are not attainable for users who own either one of the outdated consoles. One of these changes is hair physics.
In past WWE games, the physics on a wrestler’s hair isn’t great, typically staying in one spot. This becomes more obvious with highly dynamic wrestling moves like slams and suplexes. However, to improve this, 2K Games has to ditch last-gen consoles and only focus on the newer models. Creative Director, Lynell Jinks, commented on this in an interview, saying, “We’d have to adopt the spline or fur techniques that are very intense on graphics, and we just don’t have the capacity to support two different pipelines for current-gen and the older-gen consoles. One day when we’re focused on the next-gen hardware, I’m hoping we can make that jump.”
This only ignites the civil war that the franchise has been going through since the new-gen consoles were released in 2020. Players who own the new-gen consoles are aware that the old-gen consoles are holding the game developers back in terms of changes they can make and features that they can add. However, old-gen console players don’t want to be forced to upgrade and spend up to $500 for a new console.
While I understand the old-gen players’ point, I don’t feel like 2K Games is producing these games on old-gen hardware out of generosity. I think these games are still only being made to support the PS4 and the Xbox One for financial gain. If they only made the game for the current-gen, there isn’t a guarantee people would buy the updated console to play the new game. Releasing the game on both ensures that they will make more money. At the end of the day, 2K Games is a business that needs to make capital, and sacrificing a better gaming experience for more income doesn’t seem far-fetched for them.
The walls between last-gen consoles and new-gen consoles get even worse with the new game mode: The Island, which will only be available on new-gen consoles.
This mode will work similarly to The City, a game mode in the NBA 2K games where players can make a custom character to play against others online. This worries WWE fans due to the threat of more microtransactions.
Microtransactions are a common tactic in video games where players purchase virtual currencies (VC) to buy in-game items. With The Island, VC will be used to upgrade players’ MySuperstar characters. Many foresee people buying VC and maxing out their MySuperstar’s stats, making online play unbalanced. Players who can make these purchases will outrank those who can not afford these currencies.
While The Island doesn’t grab my attention, something that does is the return of promos and chain wrestling. On wrestling shows, promos are segments where wrestlers speak directly to the audience.
Promo minigames were a feature of past WWE 2K games but were removed in WWE 2K20. This angered a lot of players as gameplay was being stripped from the product. With this feature returning I’m excited to see what’s changed since its last iteration.
The second returning feature is chain wrestling. Chain wrestling allows players to simulate real-life matches on TV with different holds. Using either a wrist lock, side headlock, or waist lock, players can wear down their opponents the same way their favorite wrestlers do.
I’m excited for these two features to return purely because they add more simulation gameplay. I am a big fan of features that let players feel immersed in the game. Promos and chain wrestling allow players to replicate what they see on TV.
I usually buy these games out of tradition because I’m a big fan of WWE. I loved playing the game when I was younger, but the last few game releases haven’t been exciting for me. This time around, it feels different. With the features they’re bringing back, I’m feeling oddly optimistic about the game and can’t wait to play it.