WWE 2K22 was announced in April of this year during WWE's WrestleMania PPV event. Since its announcement, fans have been given small snippets of information in regards to the game and its mechanics, mainly teasing motion captures for various moves and superstar entrances. Aside from that, fans haven't learned much about the game, and that is concerning considering the developer has had an additional year to put it together. WWE 2K22 will be the successor to the critically panned WWE 2K20 which came out at the end of 2019, and with such a negative reception to the last entry in the series, Visual Concepts is seemingly determined to right its wrongs.
Every WWE 2K game in the last 8 years has had its release in October, so it stands to reason that WWE 2K22 may follow suit and release in October as well. Visual Concepts claims that WWE 2K22 will hit differently, but the lack of information provided this close to an alleged release might prove worrisome to those who are hoping for a change to the formula. If Visual Concepts wants WWE 2K22 to truly be different, it will need to have something more to show than new animations. The general consensus of fans is that the WWE 2K games have felt more or less the same, with little innovation, and the hope is that WWE 2K22 will indeed usher in a new era of WWE games.
WWE 2K22 Really Does Need To Hit Differently
WWE 2K22 will continue the legacy of the WWE 2K games, but many fans want something different than what they have been given in the past number of years. Still, gameplay features that fans are wanting to experience again were things like a General Manager Mode and a dynamic branching campaign for players to involve their characters. Gamers also want to have their own character involved in storylines with their favorite superstars and for their choices and outcomes to matter. For example, if a player loses a title match, they shouldn't be punished by the game forcing the player to replay the match until they win. Instead, the story should continue in a dynamic way that makes the game feel more immersive for the player, just like in the shows that the game is emulating.
A GM Mode hasn't been experienced in a WWE game since WWE SmackDown! Vs Raw 2008, and is one of the main reasons that the game is still played to this very day. Another older WWE title that is still revisited today is WWF No Mercy. This is because WWF No Mercy had very easy to pick up but hard to master gameplay that anyone could hop in and enjoy. This ease of accessibility is lost in many of the WWE 2K games, as they go for a more realistic approach, which has ended up being more buggy as the series goes on. If WWE 2K22 is to be truly successful with the fans, it certainly needs to differentiate itself from its predecessors.
On the July 23 episode of WWE SmackDown, commentator Michael Cole mentioned that WWE 2K22 will feature a rebuilt game engine and smoother controls. This is rather big news considering the WWE games have been using the same engine since the PlayStation 1 entries. This is a great first step if WWE 2K22 wants to regain respect from fans, as the last few entries in the WWE 2K series have only driven fans away. A reworked engine could see better load times, a cleaner frame rate, and indeed smoother controls. If Visual Concepts can nail the feel of the game that fans are wanting, then any additional fan-requested features would simply be the cherry on top.
WWE 2K22 is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.