WWE confirmed that this year’s entry into the WWE 2K series, WWE 2K21, has been canceled, though developer 2K Games teased a new project with the wrestling entertainment company.
WWE 2K games have been released annually since 2000, back when THQ Games was still the publisher before its dissolution in 2013. Take-Two Interactive acquired the rights to the series, with WWE 2K14 as the first game released under its brand.
In WWE’s quarterly investor call, the company’s interim chief financial officer Frank Riddick said that “there’s not going to be a launch of a game this year” when he was asked about WWE 2K21, according to IGN.
Visual Concepts, the studio behind other 2K Sports titles and most recently NBA 2K20, took over development of the WWE 2K series with WWE 2K20 from long-time WWE developer Yuke’s. Unfortunately, unlike its work with the NBA 2K franchise, WWE 2K20 turned out to be a disaster for Visual Concepts.
WWE 2K20 was one of the most disappointing games of 2019, with worse graphics than previous games in the series and gameplay that showed little innovation or interesting ideas. The game was also plagued with glitches and bugs, which has made for some popular videos but not in the way that 2K Games wanted.
The confirmation of the cancellation follows a YouTube video released two weeks ago by Justin Leeper, a former WWE 2K writer, where he claimed that “there will be no WWE 2K21,” according to reliable sources.
In the same video, Leeper said that 2K Games is working on another WWE game that will be released this year. He claimed that it will be “a different kind of WWE game” by “a different kind of game developer” that will not be Visual Concepts.
The future of the WWE 2K series
It appears that Leeper’s claim of another WWE game is true, as the official WWE 2K account on Twitter gave a heads up for an incoming announcement.
We will be sharing details on the future of the WWE 2K franchise as well as some exciting news on Monday at 7:00 a.m. PT.
— #WWE2K24 (@WWEgames) April 24, 2020
It remains to be seen what kind of WWE project 2K Games has planned. Fans will have to wait for the official announcement, but there are rumors that it will not be a wrestling simulator.
