Publisher 2K announced that its annual wrestling sim franchise will return this year with WWE 2K17, and fans can pre-order the upcoming game to get the chance to play as returning superstar Bill Goldberg.
Goldberg previously retired in 2004 before launching acomeback in 2015, and his upcoming WWE 2K17 appearance will pay tribute to his championship careers in the WWF and WCW.
Players who pre-order WWE 2K17 will receive digital codes redeemable for two different Goldberg characters, representing his stints in the WWF and WCW. Pre-order buyers will also get two playable arenas inspired by WCW Monday Nitro and Halloween Havoc.
A trailer released Tuesday makes reference to “Suplex City,” suggesting that superstar Brock Lesnar will also make an appearance in this year’s game. There’s no word on whether Goldberg’s parody counterpart Gilberg will be featured in WWE 2K17.
“Goldberg’s return to WWE action through two WWE 2K17 playable characters, along with the WCW Monday Nitro and Halloween Havoc arenas, collectively delivers a unique opportunity to experience one of WWE’s true living legends,” said 2K’s vice president of marketing Chris Snyder. “Fans can now relive many of their favorite Goldberg moments, as well as create brand new ones, as they decide ‘Who’s Next?’ in the virtual ring.”
Few details regarding WWE 2K17‘s gameplay and roster are known at this point. Publisher 2K revealed this week that Japanese studio Yuke’s will once again handle development duties for this year’s installment, having previously worked on several entries in the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw series before producing the landmark 2011 release WWE ’12.
2K acquired the rights to produce new WWE games following the bankruptcy of series publisher THQ in 2012, retaining veteran developer Yuke’s for the rebranded WWE 2K14.
WWE 2K17 will launch for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in October.
