It was announced recently that the WWE 2K22 video game will not be released until March of next year. After WWE 2K20 was poorly reviewed by fans and critics, no WWE 2K21 game was released last year. Typically, the game had been released in October each year.
According to a report from Sports Gamers Online, the delay of the game and other decisions relating to it has led to a strained relationship between WWE and the developers.
“Most of those within WWE wanted the game to release in its normal Survivor Series window. Those from 2K Sports and Visual Concepts, on the other hand, pushed hard for a delay of the launch,” wrote Michael Straw.
Roster Cuts Impacting Game Development
One factor said to have played a role in the delay is the recent roster cuts. This version of the game is being rebuilt from the ground up. This means that many wrestlers have had new character models created. Several wrestlers that had been scanned and had their character models created are now no longer with the company, however.
“This is shaping up to be the most outdated roster a game has seen,” a source told Sports Gamer Media.
This report is consistent with previous reports that an internal memo in WWE reportedly requested that Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan be removed from the game.
WWE Upset With Response To WWE 2K20
WWE was reportedly quite upset with the response to the 2K20 game. They reportedly hinted to game developers that they could move forward with a new company instead.
“It was like threats to cancel cable,” one person said. “Threats would come out of them claiming to have interest from one company here or there. I don’t know how credible that was though, or just idle threats.”
The developers who spoke with the outlet say they are trying to do everything they can to make the best game possible.
“We are fans and gamers like everyone out there,” one developer said. “We are doing everything we possibly can to make the wrestling game fans want. From modes to how it feels in the ring, we want this to be the wrestling fan’s wrestling game.”