This year’s new WWE game has been officially announced by 2K, with the addition of ragdoll physics and CM Punk as the cover star.
Following a tagline of ‘The show never stops’, publisher 2K and developer Visual Concepts are looking to build on last year’s WWE 2K25, which continued the franchise’s resurgence and became the highest-rated entry in the series’ history.
Despite no new game modes, like 2025’s The Island, there are some big changes across the board this year, with fresh matches, major gameplay enhancements, and a twist on the Showcase mode, while the decision to only focus on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC will mean everything looks that much sharper.
As Derek Donahue – Visual Concepts’ lead combat designer on the WWE 2K series – told us and other media this week, the team wanted a game that ‘feels like people have wanted it to feel for a long time’.
One of the most intriguing elements the developers have mentioned is the move to ragdoll physics, which brings another layer of unpredictability and realism to the game.
‘If I do a suplex, and I am close enough to a ledge, I can actually have somebody land over off the ledge. In fact, I could go off the ledge if I’m not careful,’ Derek explained.
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‘People are falling in all sorts of different ways, landing on weapons, whether it’s the ragdoll or just I do a DDT onto a chair on the ground, they fully react, they do extra damage, have extra reactions – and that’s how the thumbtacks work as well.’
Yes, that’s right – thumbtacks are coming to WWE 2K26, which has prompted an overhaul of the weapons system to make sure everything looks and feels like it should.
In the past, there wasn’t much of a difference between doing a move onto the ring or a weapon, but now the latter causes more damage, and the superstars will react (and bleed) accordingly.
While we’re on the subject of weapons, you can also expect the shopping cart (in certain environments), while tables can be stacked, which in turn plays into the ragdoll physics.
‘You can now double-stack tables, throw somebody from inside the ring to outside the ring, or off of a high ledge, and break two tables at once, which is awesome,’ Derek smiled. ‘A big way that you interact with tables is going over a ledge and through it, and there are now just infinitely more ways for that to happen through normal moveset attacks.’
‘it looks different every time,’ he added. ‘I lump tables and props on the ground as part of that experience.’
It’s not just about weapons, with the game also introducing interactive entrances with certain animations (based on whether you’re a babyface or heel) and pyro to trigger at certain stages, barricade combat building on last year’s diving attacks, and a new stand-of-match mode.
In the past, an animation would play and the bell would ring, throwing you straight into the action, but this time you’ll get options like drawing energy from the crowd, going for a handshake, trading blows, chain wrestling, or even rushing before the bell rings.
For the matches itself, Visual Concepts has made sure to move on from the game feeling ‘like a reversal fest’, so a new system is being introduced which the team promises will add more strategy and realism to the reversal and stamina system.
As Visual Concept’s Lynell Jenkins explained, the team is also excited to be focusing purely on current generation hardware instead of ‘having to adhere to the older consoles and that horsepower’.
‘Picture-in-picture in the Royal Rumble [is] something that people have been asking for, for so long,’ he said. ‘Being able to break away from [older consoles] has allowed us to invest in these more current techniques and rendering techniques.’
The team promises that everything will feel sharper and more realistic, even adding something as simple as shadows under the crowd, to make sure they don’t look like they’re hovering above the ground.
After last year’s move frequency feature for AI-controlled wrestlers, this time AI sequences have been added, to allow superstars controlled by the AI to understand moments like John Cena always looking for the Attitude Adjustment after hitting the Five Knuckle Shuffle.
There’ll be plenty of superstars to control, with over 400 playable characters, including incoming stars like Joe Hendry (a pre-order bonus), Rey Fenix, Miles Bourne, and more, while the creation suite is said to have significant improvements.
The DLC system of the past has been replaced with the Ringside Pass, which will focus on tiered unlockables through XP, rather than paying to instantly access content.
There will be 60 free tiers and 40 premium ones across the six planned seasons throughout the year, and the first (available at launch) will feature unlockable superstars and legends, previously available in the Supercharger, on the free tier.
Experience points earned by playing any game mode is the way to unlock content in each tier, with content ranging from superstars you’d typically see in DLC, plus The Island items, persona cards, and more.
In terms of the other game modes, Showcase gets a refresh this year, focusing on CM Punk as he narrates and lets you play through some of his proudest moments.
In a twist this time round, you’ll also take on Fantasy Warfare, putting him in legendary matches from the past.
‘I enjoyed the experience of narrating the 2K Showcase, which gave me an opportunity to tell fans the straight, unfiltered story of the moments, matches, and controversies in my career,’ says Punk.
‘Players will get to step into my boots, relive some of my proudest WWE moments, and take on challenges I never had the opportunity to face.’
Elsewhere, MyFaction is back with its balance between microtransactions and grinding, with a gameplay change this year which lets you seamlessly ‘quick swap’ your characters from your team, to add another tactical layer.
The Island also returns and will be available on PC for the first time, with a new story following on from WWE 2K25, with Roman Reigns no longer Tribal Chief, and three factions fighting for power. There’ll also be an expanded superstar builder, including face photo importing, updated quests, and a new brawl map called The Scrapyard.
MyGM and Universe mode get updates of their own with more customisable options, and the former will get more match types, the WWE Draft, and more superstars per match.
As for MyRise, the storyline mode will feature a ‘fresh theme’ with two new division-based storylines, where your choices impact the direction ‘more than ever before’, while you can keep playing the mode after the main story ends to chase more unlockables and achievements.
As ever, there are other editions, with the deluxe version replaced with a Kings of Kings Edition with Triple H on the cover, plus Attitude Era and Monday Night Wars covers with their own content including classic superstars, arenas, and more.
Formats: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC
Publisher: 2K
Developer: Visual Concepts
Release Date: 13th March 2026*
*The King of Kings, Attitude Era, and Monday Night Wars editions allow early access from 6th March
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