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After last years WWE video game, WWE 2K20, WWE and 2K decided to cancel this years instalment of the series. Instead making a more cartoon like, over exaggerated game called WWE 2K Battlegrounds.
WWE 2K20 received a huge amount of bad ratings, leading to millions of dollars loss and a bad reputation for the game series. This lead to a new WWE 2K Executive Producer, Patrick Gilmore.
Gilmore recently held a Reddit Q&A where he discussed the problems with 2K20 and the direction for WWE 2K22 including the changes that will be made.
He speaks about the core gameplay involved in the game:
“The game play team is focused on Accessibility, Depth and Wrestling Experience. For Accessibility, we’re obsessed with a simple, intuitive interface which has meaning and depth in a wide variety of contexts—i.e. the game is a lot smarter about what the player is trying to do given a gameplay situation (in a grapple, on the ropes, against a turnbuckle, etc.), with consistent inputs regardless of situation. New players should be able to accidentally pull off awesome moves just by playing with and experimenting with controls.”
He speaks on how he wants the game to work:
“The last aspect of great gameplay is capturing the essence of professional wrestling, which has dimensions of drama, changing context, massive roster, backstage action, weapons and props, audience participation and spectacle. One of the huge challenges of the franchise is finding ways for players to feel in control of the vast number of potential outcomes in a given match. While we take lessons from fighting games, action RPG’s and other genres, this aspect helps us stay focused on delivering a through-and-through wrestling game. While we’re determined to deliver the spectacle and specific moments of a genuine match, I can say we’re trying to get away from UI popups or mini-games to represent things like pins or reversals, and instead move those concepts into more fully-realized mechanics which feel like extensions of the main experience.”
He then goes through his vision for the WWE2K Series:
“I personally put a huge value on authenticity—making the stakes of a match feel real, visceral, impactful. Early on, I spent a ton of time with the creative director, and we went through a bunch of shows, PPV’s and such. I responded to a lot of it, and really wanted to synthesize into a unifying theme. Then, one day, I walked past his desk and he was watching some behind the scenes material that really focused on Bautista. I stopped in my tracks, and we spend the next hour or so scrubbing through material. I think the vision really emerged from those conversations—what’s it like to actually BE on the roster, to be a part of this spectacular entertainment? To describe this in terms of a “vision” I would say our goal is to focus a lot more on the superstar experience.”
Will we see the GM Mode in WWE 2K22?
I personally love Create A Story, and would love to get it back into the game. We definitely want to do it at some point. As for GM Mode, it’s not lost on us that it was the top requested feature in our recent community feedback project. We’re working on proposals/solutions internally, but they’ll need to get reviewed and approved before we move forward on development. We’ll share more in the future.
Seeking inspiration from classics such as WWF No Mercy, and WWE SmackDown: Here Comes The Pain.
Core gameplay is one of the major investments we’re making in the next installment—one of six pillars we are focused on disproportionately in development. We are looking at much-loved previous games like No Mercy or Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain, along with top franchise installments, and more modern wrestling and fighting games to build an all-new philosophical foundation for the game. People who hope that we holistically adopt the control scheme or philosophy from one of their favorite games are likely to be disappointed; we are trying to combine the best ideas out there into a brand new wrestling experience that sets a new standard.
While no release date has been announced, WWE 2K22 is expected to be released in Fall 2021.