2K Sports has made the decision not to release a new main series WWE 2K game this year, instead opting to spend more time developing next year's game and releasing a cartoony, arcade-style spin-off in the meantime. WWE 2K Battlegrounds has received a mixed reception so far, but the reaction to the game's latest trailer has been met with widespread disdain from both WWE and Nintendo fans online.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds was one of the games featured in the recent Nintendo Direct Mini presentation, an event designed to show off some upcoming third-party games that are in development for the Nintendo Switch. The game was presented with a trailer that showed various WWE wrestlers playing it while in a wrestling ring, spouting corny dialogue and acting overly excited about the gameplay. This combined with what many are claiming is unimpressive gameplay has seen the trailer hit with 4.6 thousand dislikes versus just 1.4 thousand likes at the time of this writing.
Some of the negative comments for the WWE 2K Battlegrounds trailer are pretty scathing, with one person saying that they can't wait for the game to wind up in the $5 bin at Walmart. Others seem less concerned with the quality of the game, but more with the fact that it was shown in the western Nintendo Direct Mini instead of some of the games that were shown in the Japanese version of the event.
Now, it should be noted that WWE 2K Battlegrounds could end up being a quality game. While it may not have the realistic visuals that fans have come to expect from modern sports games, it's looking to provide a completely different kind of experience for WWE fans. Some have affectionately compared it to the over-the-top WWE All-Stars game, which seems like an apt comparison. It may not provide the deep simulation that some fans want, but it looks like it could be a fun party game with the right group of friends.
Even if WWE 2K Battlegrounds doesn't set the world on fire when it releases later this year, it would be surprising if it ends up as poorly-received as WWE 2K20, which has the distinction of being one of the most worst-reviewed wrestling games of all time.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds launches September 18 for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.