2K Sports is promising the largest roster in the history of the WWE 2K series with the latest entry, WWE 2K16. But 2K Sports tendency to make similar claims in the past, only to pad the roster with re-skinned superstars, has left fan understandably skeptical about WWE 2K16.
However, to help prove their point, 2K Sports has started a roster update process that will unveil new characters every week. Last week, they kicked things off with the announcement that Booker T and Triple H, among others, will be joining the roster, and they plan to reveal more wrestlers every Monday night until the game's release on October 27th. With 12 new wrestlers confirmed last week, and now 19 more this week, 2K Sports is well on its way to reaching that "over 120 wrestlers" goal.
For this week, the 19 additional wrestlers confirmed for WWE 2K16 are:
- Adam Rose
- Bo Dallas
- Brie Bella
- Brock Lesnar
- Goldust
- Heath Slater
- Hideo Itami
- Jack Swagger
- Kevin Owens
- Neville
- Nikki Bella
- Ric Flair
- Sami Zayn
- Roman Reigns
- Stardust
- Sting
- Tyler Breeze
- The Ultimate Warrior
- Zack Ryder
Whereas last week's roster update featured wrestlers from a variety of different eras, this week's focuses entirely on wrestlers that are on WWE's current real world roster. Most notable is the inclusion of NXT wrestlers such as Hideo Itami and Sami Zayn, confirming that WWE 2K16, much like WWE 2K15 before it, will have a significant representation of WWE's developmental program.
That being said, WWE 2K16 is being built around the career of cover athlete "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and with the exception of Goldust and Sting, virtually none of the newly announced wrestlers have had any interaction with the Rattlesnake over the years. While it's nice to see the modern wrestlers on the roster, expect 2K Sports to announce more classic wrestlers from the early 90's as well as the Attitude Era in order to more completely encompass Austin's career.
These 19 new wrestlers bring the total number of confirmed personalities for the WWE 2K16 roster to 38, not counting the amusing Terminator pre-order bonus. This means that 2K Sports has about 100 more unique wrestlers to reveal before they fulfill their lofty promise, but with 10 more Monday nights between now and the launch of the game, that gives the studio plenty of time to make such announcements.
10 more weeks of roster updates also gives them plenty of time to make some last minute cuts or changes as well. As we've already seen, 2K Sports has had to cut Hulk Hogan from WWE 2K16, and it's entirely possible that one or more wrestlers might need to be pulled from the game.
Hopefully, though, it's smooth sailing for WWE and 2K Sports from here on out, so they can meet the promise of the largest roster in series history. As we've said before, if they have difficulties fleshing out the roster with actual wrestlers, 2K Sports could consider incorporating more fantasy characters like The Terminator into the mix. This could also give the game more attention than it would otherwise receive, and give it more mainstream appeal as well.
WWE 2K16 will be available October 27th for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Source: IGN