Wrestling fans are taking to social media to voice their displeasure at the WWE's latest wave of roster releases and the implications it will have on WWE 2K22. The decision to release Keith Lee, Nia Jax, Karrion Kross, and a host of others represents the latest round of cuts to the WWE roster across all its major brands. When WWE 2K22 does finally come out, fans are worried that the roster may feel a bit light in comparison to past titles.
The WWE has not been shy about talent releases, citing "budget cuts" as the reasoning. The wrestlers that have been let go have consisted of fan favorites, underutilized talent, and even a relative of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The numerous wrestlers released this year alone have left only the top echelon of popular personalities in the sport and thinned out divisions that leave a void of challengers for title matches and compelling storyline rivalries. Roster cuts have also seemed to upset the development process of WWE 2K22 as rumors circulated earlier this year that planned WWE 2K22 DLC had to be scrapped because of an earlier round of releases.
The head-scratching choices made by the WWE executives are leaving fans of wrestling games to cope with the idea of thin in-game rosters by making jokes and memes about the situation. The fanbase is not filled with renewed confidence for the next WWE 2K title, which has already been delayed out of 2021. Another round of cuts may also infuriate the developers at 2K Games and Visual Concepts who have already supposedly had beef with the WWE in the past before the decision was made to delay the game. More roster cuts mean more scrapped character models, unique entries, and animations thrown out.
At this rate, the WWE 2K22 roster may consist of an even split between current high-profile talent and WWE Legends. That may be fine for some fans that will play the returning General Manager mode heavily to create their dream wrestling entertainment spectacle, but it restrains the creativity and diversity of the game as a whole. With competing pro-wrestling organization AEW making its own game with former longtime wrestling game developer Yukes at the helm, the competition in that space will only put more strain on WWE 2K22 to be a quality product.
The last time news about WWE 2K22's development came at SummerSlam. Since then, 2K Games have been plugging away at making the game as great as it can be in order to right the wrongs of WWE 2K20. With the next update expected in January, hopefully, the final roster will be confirmed.
WWE 2K22 is currently in development and set for release in March 2022.
Source: Bleacher Report