More details about the upcoming WWE 2K22 have started to emerge, detailing the motion capture process used to bring the game’s many Superstars to life, and plans to further utilize WWE’s NXT division. Since April, 2K Sports has been assuring wrestling fans that its next WWE game will “hit different” than the infamously rushed WWE 2K20, which led to the cancellation of the planned WWE 2K21 and the release of the arcade-style WWE 2K Battlegrounds while developer Visual Concepts took the extra two years to refine and retool its in-ring approach.
2K Sports presented footage for WWE 2K22 during August’s two-night WWE SummerSlam event, which featured vastly improved models of in-ring competitors like Edge and Roman Reigns and revealed the game’s new March 22 release date. An additional trailer took a further dive into the game’s vast assortment of gameplay modes last month, teasing the return of fan-favorite WWE 2K22 features like GM Mode, Universe, and the custom wrestler Creation Suite, alongside a new MyFaction mode that will allow players to form their own power group to take down the competition. WWE 2K22’s story-driven 2K Showcase mode is said to follow the career of veteran luchador Rey Mysterio, but recent leaks suggest that Visual Concepts was originally going to focus on newer faces for WWE 2K22.
According to Sportskeeda, several recently released WWE Superstars recently spoke with Patreon-exclusive wrestling news site Fightful Select about their involvement with WWE 2K22. These wrestlers said that they were brought in “several times” for motion capture work and that Visual Concepts performed two scans: one for their face and another for their body. Even the wrestlers’ tattoos were analyzed to both ensure accuracy in their in-game models and to avoid any potential copyright issues. Motion capture footage was also sent to the performers in question to ensure their movesets would be faithfully captured in WWE 2K22. Finally, sources claim that WWE 2K22 was originally going to be centered around WWE’s NXT brand (which is focused more around newer and younger WWE talent than shows like Raw or Smackdown), but WWE’s recent wave of releases has effectively put those plans into question.
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Indeed, WWE has seen a massive number of talented wrestlers being let go over the past year, ranging from lower-card competitors like Blake Christian to fan-favorite main eventers like Bray “The Fiend” Wyatt. This hasn’t helped Visual Concepts’ efforts to maintain a current and consistent assortment of playable stars in its newest wrestling game, with one report claiming that WWE 2K22 has one of the most outdated rosters in the history of the WWE gaming franchise. The relationship between 2K Sports and WWE was further strained due to WWE 2K22’s long development cycle, with WWE even threatening to pull its license outright in favor of a different publisher if Visual Concepts couldn’t get the game out on time.
WWE’s roster has seen a drastic upheaval over the past few months, and it is only natural that this is being reflected in the development of WWE 2K22. 2K Sports and Visual Concepts are already fighting an uphill battle to win fans back after the disappointing WWE 2K20 over two years ago, and the currently unstable state of WWE itself is proving to be yet another complication as WWE 2K22 nears its planned release in March.