A new year is upon us and today 2K Games announced their annual dose of pro-wrasslin’ action will launch in March. WWE 2K23 is fronted by John Cena, who will also be the focus of the game’s 2K Showcase mode, although in a fun twist, you won’t be playing as Cena himself but rather a series of his greatest opponents who are out to defeat the jorts-wearing juggernaut. WWE 2K23 promises to improve on its predecessor in a number of ways, adding the fan-favorite WarGames match, distinct male and female stories for the MyRise career mode, and more. You can check out first screenshots of WWE 2K23, below.
Here's a little teaser trailer, featuring a brief glimpse of gameplay and John Cena doing a really cheesy job of pretending to play video games.
And here’s a full rundown of the game’s new features.
- 2K Showcase Starring John Cena: Conquering John Cena in the ring is an accolade few Superstars can claim. In an unprecedented twist on the 2K Showcase, players will step into the boots of several of Cena’s toughest competitors with one goal in mind: defeat the man who will “Never Give Up.” Spanning his 20-year WWE career and narrated by Cena himself, this interactive sports entertainment documentary uses 2K’s unique Slingshot Tech for a seamless transition from gameplay to live-action footage to bring pivotal moments in each match to life.
- WarGames: The fan-favorite, chaotic and action-packed WarGames makes its debut in WWE2K23 and delivers heart-pounding 3v3 and 4v4 single player or multiplayer mayhem inside two side-by-side rings, surrounded by a double-steel cage.
- MyGM: Now featuring more GMs to choose from – or a player’s own custom GM creation – as well as additional show options, multiple seasons, expanded match cards, and more match types for up to four players. Players draft a roster, manage budgets, sign free agents, choose various match types, arena locations, production elements and more, with the goal of beating a rival GM in weekly ratings battles.
- MyFaction: Now featuring online multiplayer, the team-building mode in which players collect, manage, and upgrade an array of WWE Superstars and Legends to create their ultimate four-person factions returns. Players can now take their faction online and compete for global dominance, or compete in Weekly Towers and Faction Wars, while new themed card packs and goals roll out regularly throughout the year.
- MyRise: Aspiring Superstars walk through the curtain for their WWE debut in MyRISE and shape their career with the decisions made along the way. Featuring distinct men’s and women’s division storylines and the ability to import custom created Superstars, players journey from the humble beginnings of a Rookie, to being immortalized as a WWE Legend.
- Universe: The ultimate WWE Universe sandbox that puts players in charge of their own version of WWE, from Superstar rosters, feuds, champions, weekly shows, and Premium Live Events! Updates to Universe include a reworked story system and more.
- Creation Suite: A signature feature of the WWE 2K franchise, the creation suite returns with cross-platform community creations, including the ability to design custom Superstars, GMs, arenas, entrances, move sets, championships and more. Custom arenas are now playable online, and advanced customization has been added to created entrances.
Sounds like a solid iterative update on WWE 2K22, which was a decent new start, but still needed some improvement in certain areas.
WWE 2K23 will of course will come in the usual array of editions, including the $100 Deluxe Edition that offers 3-day early access, a Season Pass, Bad Bunny Bonus Pack (yes, Bad Bunny is in the game), MyRise boosters, and some bonus cards for the MyFaction Ultimate-Team-style mode. The Icon Edition is $120 and includes all Deluxe Edition content along with more MyFaction stuff and the Ruthless Aggression Pack, which offers early versions of stars like John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar.
The Deluxe and Icon Editions of WWE 2K23 launch on PC (which will once again be the last-gen version of the game), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5 on March 14, while the standard editions launch on March 17. A gameplay trailer will debut tonight during Monday Night Raw, so keep an eye out for that.
