WWE 2K22 brings the world of sports entertainment back to consoles after a brief hiatus, but what can we expect to see?
WWE 2K22 is coming and its slogan is promising that it “hits different”, suggesting that the series’ hiatus period might have been just the thing to reinvigorate it. Fans will certainly be hoping that WWE 2K22 is a significant improvement over the disastrous WWE 2K20, which led to WWE 2K21 being canceled. But what do we know about WWE 2K22 so far? Well, we know the game is expected to release in March 2022, bucking the series’ October release trend. We also know that when it does release, it’ll feature new controls, more than 3,400 new animations, updated graphics, and a redesigned engine. The game also uses a new facial scanning technology, with publisher 2K Games claiming that 85% of the in-game roster has taken part in having their likenesses scanned into the game. Want to know more? Read on for everything we know about WWE 2K22 so far. WWE 2K22 will release on March 11,2022 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS4, Xbox One and PC. A March release goes against the series’ usual October release date trend, but it does fall in the run-up to Wrestlemania (which takes place in April), when WWE fandom is at a fever pitch. We hope that this extra time will mean that when it releases WWE 2K22 might actually be a great wrestling game. There are a few different editions of WWE 2K22 to choose from and below we’ve laid out the differences between them and what you can expect by way of pre-order bonuses. Standard Edition The standard edition of WWE 2K22 comes with the base game. In physical copies of the game, players will also get WWE SuperCard Limited Edition Cards: Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio. Next-gen editions of the standard edition (that’s for PS5 and Xbox Series X) will also come with The Starrcade ’96 Rey Mysterio Pack, which features a ’96 Rey Mysterio playable character and Starrcade ‘96 Rey Mysterio Ruby MyFACTION card. Deluxe Edition The deluxe edition of the game comes with the following digital items: NWO 4-Life Edition The nWo 4-Life edition of WWE 2K22 is a digital-only edition and comes with the following items: Cross-gen bundle The last edition is the cross-gen digital bundle. It includes the digital standard edition and comes with “dual-gen entitlement,” which allows you to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, or PS4 and PS5. Coming with next-gen, it’ll also include the Starrcade ’96 Rey Mysterio Pack. Pre-order bonuses There are also pre-order bonuses to be had with the standard edition and cross-gen editions of WWE 2K22. If you pre-order these editions then you’ll receive the Undertaker Immortal Pack, which includes 3 additional Undertaker personas, MyFACTION EVO cards for Undertaker and MyFACTION Perks and Bonuses The Undertaker Immortal Pack comes as standard with the Deluxe and nWo 4-Life editions. Pre-ordering the Deluxe and nWo 4-Life editions, however, provides 3-day early access to the game. Following negative feedback from fans and critics on WWE 2K20, in April 2020, publisher 2K released a statement explaining the sudden cancellation of WWE 2K21, and how it planned to make WWE 2K22 the best game yet. “We hear you and we know you want more from the franchise, so we are applying what we’ve learned to the next WWE 2K simulation game with a renewed focus on quality and fun,” the publisher said. “As part of that commitment, we are extending the production timeline and will not be releasing a WWE 2K simulation game in 2020. We want to ensure the development team can create a great game that will entertain grizzled WWE 2K veterans, as well as newcomers who want to climb through the ropes and step into the ring for the very first time.” There are high hopes, then, that WWE 2K22 will be a return to form for the franchise, but also that it will dramatically improve upon previous entries, which have been rather lackluster.
