With spring comes flowers, warmer weather, and a new WWE 2K game. Developer 2K redefined the formula for its annual squared-circle simulators back in 2022, with each new installment building on what worked before. WWE 2K26 follows this, giving fans one of the most polished games in franchise history… but not without some caveats.
If you’ve played any of the past few WWE 2K games (like I have), WWE 2K26‘s in-ring action will already feel familiar. With the press of a button or trigger, wrestlers perform strikes, grapples, aerial moves off the turnbuckles, and Signature Moves and Finishers to beat their opponents into submission, just like they do on every episode of Raw, NXT, SmackDown, or the monthly Premium Live Events.
Key Details
- Developer: Visual Concepts
- Publisher: 2K
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X, and Series S
- Price: $69.99 (Standard Edition), $99.99 (King of Kings Edition), $129.99 (Attitude Era Edition)
- Review Code Provided: No
Step (Back) In The Arena
WWE 2K26 does add a few new tricks to spice things up and try to better replicate the mix of high-octane athletics and scripted drama of its source material. At the beginning of a match, you have the option to perform a Rivalry Action by pressing a button on the D-Pad. These can range from a tense stare-down with your enemy to a furious exchange of blows right before the bell rings. A similar selection of D-Pad prompts appears during your wrestler’s entrance, allowing them to strike a pose or set off some pyro whenever you see fit.
WWE 2K26 also adds a new Stamina bar, which drains if you keep spamming powerful attacks one after the other. Once it is drained completely, you will become Winded, and you won’t be able to run or perform Reversals until it replenishes.
Some other additions to WWE 2K26’s combat include Drives, which can be used to force your opponent into the ropes or a corner, a Third-Person Camera that can be rotated to give you the best view of the action (I don’t think I’ve used it after the tutorial), and a newly revamped ragdoll system adds to the physicality of a match by allowing wrestlers to flop on the ground more realistically after taking a big slam.
WWE 2K26 Turns Up The Heat With New Match Types
In addition to all the various match types of past installments, WWE 2K26 adds a trio of new stipulations. First is the I Quit Match, which requires you to force your opponent to surrender by pressing the down direction on a downed opponent and demanding that they say, well, “I Quit.” You have to avoid saying those two deadly words yourself by pressing a button in time with the green sections on a cursor wheel to build up the willpower to resist. You can earn Blockers that stop your opponent from winning by performing big moves during the match.
The very rare (and extremely dangerous) Inferno Match sees the sides of the ring engulfed in flames that grow whenever a powerful move is performed (as represented by a rising meter). The object is to catch your opponent on fire by pressing them against the burning ropes once the blaze (and meter)reaches its apex. There is also the 3 Stages Of Hell, a customizable best-of-three contest where you can pick a different stipulation for each round.
Dumpster Matches task combatants with tossing their opponent into a large garbage dumpster and closing the lid on them. It pretty much works the same as a Casket Match; you open the lid, dump the opponent inside, and complete a button-mashing minigame to shut it. Of the new match types in WWE 2K26, it has to be my least favorite.
WWE 2K Showcase Goes Punk
Showcase Mode returns, with this year’s focus being on current WWE World Heavyweight Champion and proud Pepsi enthusiast CM Punk. This year, the Showcase is split into three sections: the first is the expected run through some of Punk’s best matches and moments (complete with video introductions and narration from the Second City Saint himself), the second is a group of fantasy matches against legends that Punk never battled for real, and the third is an alternate timeline where he never left the WWE in the mid 2010s.
Each match features a checklist of objectives you have to complete to re-create key moments and unlock new characters and outfits. There are plenty of fun twists in the latter sections of the mode (such as Punk dressing up as Bret “The Hitman” Hart), and it serves as a nice crash course on Punk’s history in the WWE – even if some of his most noteworthy rivalries are missing due to contractual issues and other factors. For example, his infamous 2011 “Pipe Bomb” promo isn’t featured, nor are the real-life circumstances for his sabbatical elaborated on.
Choose Your Path In MyRise
WWE 2K26’s second major single-player story mode is MyRise, which once again puts players in the role of a created wrestler as part of an original plotline. This time around, your character is
“The Archetype,” who is returning from an injury to reclaim their place among the elite of WWE.
Along the way, you choose different paths that determine your friends, enemies, and moral alignment, and certain missions unlock new characters, arenas, and parts for custom wrestlers, which, of course, adds to the mode’s replay value. You can also compete in exhibition “Rise” matches that give you experience points to make your Superstar even stronger. This year’s campaign is somewhat short, and there is plenty of grinding required, but there are some fun playable moments – especially in the Heel (bad guy) path.
There Are Many Paths To Glory In WWE 2K26
Universe mode is back as well, and it remains an open sandbox that lets you play through typical WWE events and storylines however you wish. You can choose which wrestlers you can fight/ally with through Rivalry Matches and Actions, which shape the path your story takes. New to this year is the WWE Draft, which comes once a year and sees wrestlers chosen at random to move between the Raw and SmackDown brands, as well as Promos that can be used to fuel a rivalry or announce a change in direction. Strangely enough, there is no dialogue in the Promos, not even through text.
MyGM mode adds plenty of new bells and whistles to help you manage your own WWE brand, such as longer seasons, eight-person matches, inter-gender matches, new promo types, inter-promotional matches, and more. You still have to build a roster and manage rivalries by pairing different classes of wrestlers against each other while managing a budget and preventing rival brands from upstaging you. This was never my favorite mode, as I can never really get a handle on the character type match-ups.
MyFaction remains the same as ever: an online mode where you build your own personal wrestling stable by collecting character cards. Players select their starting lineup from a handful of wrestlers and managers, then choose between an ever-shifting assortment of Daily and Weekly Challenges and single-player options like World Tour, Faction Wars, and Weekly Towers. I’ve never really cared for this mode either, but there are some cool unlocks to be discovered.
Create Your Own Chaos
The Island returns from WWE 2K25, serving as a sort of online multiplayer mode where players can compete against each other or complete solo storylines to unlock new items. This time around, the main story revolves around warring factions that want to unlock the Island’s power for themselves.
When first creating an avatar, the player chooses between these three factions, which each have a separate Men’s and Women’s division, as well as unlockable rewards. Once you create your character, you can roam around the Island, participate in online events and brawls at the Scrapyard, and buy new cosmetics with the VC points you earn in matches. Overall, The Island is a cool concept, but the overworld feels somewhat lifeless, and the network connection isn’t reliable. Brawling with wrestlers in The Scrapyard is fun, though.
Like always, WWE 2K26 allows you to make your own custom wrestlers, movesets, arenas, title belts, and even shows through an in-depth content creation suite. You can even customize existing wrestlers (within reason), and the game provides you with a handful of default templates you can tweak to your liking.
Of course, you can also download creations from other players via WWE 2K26’s Community Creations database. The game has only been out for a week or so, but fans have already built up an impressive library of existing wrestlers who aren’t in WWE, fictional characters, and celebrities for you to throw down with.
A Rocky Road To WrestleMania
Finally, the visual and audio presentation remains pretty much the same as WWE 2K25, with some slight improvements to the graphics. Hair and title belts still look strange, and I did notice a few strange glitches like wrestlers briefly popping out of existence and microphones floating right after a promo. Commentary for the exhibition and MyRise matches is now provided by Michael Cole, Wade Barrett, and Booker T, all of whom give decent performances.
However, I do have to address an elephant in the room, and that is this game’s increasing use of microtransactions and always-online elements. Certain wrestlers are locked behind Ringside Pass or special edition DLC, which costs even more money on top of the $70 for the base game.
To WWE 2K25’s credit, you can unlock the “Free” Ringside Pass rewards by accumulating points during other game modes, though this will only count when your game is connected to the internet. This can be a problem if your game isn’t hooking up to the online network for some reason, as mine did constantly. Certain items (as well as wrestlers from WWE’s Mexico-based AAA promotion) are tied to the “Premium” Pass, which does require spending real money.
Final Score – 8/10
Hopefully, this doesn’t become more prominent in the future, as WWE 2K26 does a lot of things right when it comes to letting fans live out their dreams of winning the WWE Championship or figuring out who would win in a fight between CM Punk and Stone Cold Steve Austin. This year’s iteration feels more like an evolution than a revolution (ironically so, given who the cover star is), but there is still plenty of content to keep wrestling fans warmed up for WrestleMania next month.
About the Author
Discover more from Bonus Action
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
