Viseo game publisher 2K has announced exciting details about WWE 2K24, including the cover stars: Cody Rhodes, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley. This year’s edition comes with new features such as a Wrestlemania-themed Showcase mode and a roster filled with legends like Andre the Giant. The game is set to launch on March 8 (with early access on March 5) for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
The upcoming installment maintains the series’ annual release tradition after a hiatus in 2019 due to the poorly received WWE 2K20. Since then, the series has made a successful comeback, starting with 2022’s WWE 2K22. This year’s edition will build on that success in various ways.
Similar to last year’s WWE 2K23, 2K24 will have special editions featuring different superstars on the covers. The deluxe version will feature Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley. The $120 40 Years of Wrestlemania Edition will include legends like The Rock. The cover of the standard edition will feature Cody Rhodes, with Visual Concepts working with WWE to select the star, making it a seemingly easy choice.
Gameplay producer Bryan Williams shares his perspective, stating, “For me, it was the most obvious choice. Since his return, Cody has been arguably the hottest male talent in the WWE. And he’s maintained that popularity throughout the year, even after taking that unfortunate loss to Roman Reigns at last year’s Wrestlemania. But he is the guy, and not having him on the cover would be akin to an NBA 2K not having the title winners on the cover. He’s that guy!”
All these stars will be included in the game’s playable roster, alongside John Cena, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and The Undertaker.
There’s a heavy emphasis on Wrestlemania this time around. The year’s story mode, called MyShowcase of the Immortals, will allow players to recreate iconic Wrestlemania matches, such as the classic bout between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. In addition, the 40 Years of Wrestlemania Edition will offer extra skins for fighters like Charlotte Flair and “Macho Man” Randy Savage based on their memorable Wrestlemania attire.
Almost every mode in 2K24 will receive additional content, and the game will introduce new match types such as Special Guest Referee, Ambulance Match, Casket Match, and Gauntlet Match, along with a four-player update to Backstage Brawls. The wrestling system will be enhanced with Super Finishers and a new minigame focused on trading blows. The popular MyGM mode will expand with more match types, brand trades, and a new level-up system for drafted superstars. MyRise, MyFaction, and Universe will all return with new upgrades as well.
The developers at Visual Concepts appear to be confident in their foundation after returning to an annual release cycle in 2022. When asked about their feelings after three years back into the yearly release cycle, the developers expressed excitement and confidence. Creative director Lynell Jinks explained that this development cycle is a lot easier for the team compared to the challenging experience of rehabilitating the series in 2022.
“When we took that extra time to make WWE 2K22, I would say that was one of the hardest development cycles for us,” Jinks tells Digital Trends. “Not only because we were rewriting the engine and redoing our pipelines, and trying to make the game as good as it was after suffering that defeat of 2K20, [but] the landscape of the WWE was changing so frequently with WWE superstars leaving and coming back. People’s personas and storylines were changing. It made it really hard to play catchup and lockdown looks or movesets or storylines in MyRise because things were changing so frequently.”
WWE 2K24‘s standard edition will be released on March 8 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Those purchasing the deluxe or 40 Years of Wrestlemania editions can start playing on March 5.
Editors’ Recommendations
