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WWE have announced the next installment of their 2K games 'WWE 2K22' which is set to be released soon. The release is expected to be in Q3 or Q4 of this year. Traditionally, the games are released around October and November.
Teaser trailers have already been played on WWE programming. SmackDown commentator Michael Cole confirmed the game will "feature a rebuilt game engine and smoother controls." Cole revealed these details on the July 23rd episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
The improvements announced for WWE 2K22 come after WWE 2K20 received much criticism. The game had a number of bugs and glitches, with the characters not looking as realistic as they should.
2K's Global Communications Manager, Al Stavola, discussed the new game at a WWE 2K22 pre-brief earlier this year:
"We want that to be clear that it doesn’t just apply to the game itself,” Stavola said. “It applies to the way we market the game, the way we communicate the game with press, content creators, and our community. We want to try out a lot of new ideas; we want to bring everyone along for the journey. You’re going to be seeing things earlier than before. You’re going to be seeing kind of a deeper, more behind the scenes look at things than you have in the past," Al Stavola (h/t Wrestling INC.).
2K didn't release a WWE 2K21 last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they released WWE 2K Battlegrounds, which was an arcade-style fighting game, as opposed to an in-ring game which we have been accustomed to over the years.
Who has been announced for WWE 2K22?
So far, a number of WWE superstars have been announced for WWE 2K22. They include:
- Rey Mysterio
- Bayley
- Cesaro
- Booker T
- Bobby Lashley
- 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair
- The Miz
- Randy Orton
- Angel Garza
- Edge
It will be interesting to see if other recently released superstars such as The Fiend and Braun Strowman make the game, alongside Ric Flair. WWE 2K22 has been in development since prior to WrestleMania 37, which means there's every chance they could still feature.
The game will certainly be scrutinized by many game players following the disastrous release of WWE 2K20. It's a big chance for 2K to redeem themselves. After all, they have the tagline 'It Hits Different' for this year's release, so let's hope it lives up to the hype.
