WWE 2K20

WWE 2K20 is a professional wrestling video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 22, 2019 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.[1] It is the twenty-first game in the WWE game series and the seventh under the WWE 2K banner. The successor to WWE 2K19, 2K20 is the first game in the series to not be developed by Yuke's, which developed ever entry in the series since its inception in 2000. They were replaced by Visual Concepts, who had previously worked with Yuke's as co-developers.

WWE 2K20
Cover photo featuring Becky Lynch and Roman Reigns
Developer(s)Visual Concepts
Publisher(s)2K Sports
SeriesWWE 2K
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Release
  • WW: October 22, 2019
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

WWE 2K20 received negative reviews, with critics noting a regression in quality compared to WWE 2K19. The game has since gained notoriety in both the wrestling and gaming community for its bugs at launch and technical issues.

Gameplay

Game modes

WWE 2K20's 2K Showcase mode revolves around the Four Horsewomen of WWE (Bayley, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks).[2] The 2K Towers mode, first introduced in WWE 2K19, made its return to the series.[3] WWE 2K20 features a female MyCareer story alongside its male story, a first for the franchise.[4]

The WWE Towers Mode Returned, with one of the towers centered around Roman Reigns, with matches with unique commentary from Extreme Rules (2013) to Stomping Grounds.

Development

WWE 2K20 is the first game in the series to be solely developed by Visual Concepts; previous entries were co-developed by Yuke's.[5] Eminem was reported to be curating the soundtrack of the game early in development, but talks with the rapper fell through after the news was leaked before it was made official.[6] The game was formally announced on August 5, 2019, with a trailer announcing Becky Lynch and Roman Reigns as cover stars.[7] This marks the first game in the WWE 2K series to feature a female cover star (most recently, THQ's WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 featured Torrie Wilson on the NTSC cover of the game), and the first game since WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 to have more than one cover star.

Release

The collectors' edition, the "SmackDown 20th Anniversary Edition", featured the return of Chyna as a playable character, who has not been featured in a WWE video game since WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role in 2000. The game also featured the return of Hulk Hogan, who last appeared in WWE 2K15.[8][9][10]

Downloadable content

Four DLC expansions were released for the game under the banner "WWE 2K Originals", which include Showcase episodes, arenas, and character skins and accessories based on fantasy settings.[11][12] All DLC expansions (except for "Bump in the Night") were made available as part of a season pass, while the season pass was bundled with the Deluxe and SmackDown 20th Anniversary Edition SKUs of the game.[13] The first, "Bump in the Night" (which was also included as a pre-order bonus), is a horror-themed expansion centered upon Bray Wyatt's "The Fiend" persona,[12][14] the second expansion "Wasteland Wanderers" is a dystopian-themed expansion centered upon Seth Rollins,[15] the third is based on WWE's digital series Southpaw Regional Wrestling (a parody of local wrestling promotions in the 1980's),[16] and the fourth, "Empire of Tomorrow", carries a futuristic theme and a focus on female characters.[17]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic(PC) 43/100[18]
(PS4) 43/100[19]
(XONE) 45/100[20]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GameSpot2/10[21]
GamesRadar+[22]
IGN4.3/10[23]

WWE 2K20 received "generally unfavorable" reviews on all platforms according to review aggregator Metacritic.[18][19][20] Reviewers criticized the physics, graphics, targeting, change in controls and the numerous glitches.[24][25][26]

Brian Mazique of Forbes gave it a 5.25 out of 10, saying “It feels as if this was a rebuilding year for the WWE 2K franchise." Mazique also said, "While a few of the legacy strengths such as the creation suite are still strong, the most important part, the gameplay is in a bad place."[27] Matt Fowler of IGN gave the game a rating of 4.3 out of 10 and called it a "mess". He went on to state, "WWE 2K19 looked like it stopped the downward trend for the series, but WWE 2K20 doubles back, breaks its ankle, and tumbles down the slope. Fundamental parts that felt totally fine in WWE 2K19 now feel clumsy, the impressive roster of 238 superstars is all but meaningless when a majority of them look like they crawled out of a PS2-era wrestling game, and while 2K20's MyCareer mode offers a better wrestling story mode than most previous WWE 2K games, that’s a low bar to clear – it’s still saddled with bad progression and a plodding pace. This is a mess that 2K needs to clean up in a hurry."[23] GamesRadar+'s Ben Wilson gave it 2 and a half stars, giving the verdict "WWE 2K20 plays like a work-in-progress demo that’s yet to be stress-tested - but there’s a decent game somewhere under the hot mess."[28] GameSpot gave 2K20 a 2/10 rating, the lowest score in the series.[21]

The game received notable backlash on social media platforms, where the hashtag #FixWWE2K20 began trending.[29] At the start of 2020, the game was rendered almost unplayable due to a "Y2k20" bug.[30]

Series future

In April 2020, former WWE video games writer Justin Leeper reported that the successor to WWE 2K20, WWE 2K21 has been cancelled. The decision was made due to 2K20's poor sales in addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the video game industry. Leeper would go on to state that 2K will publish a different WWE game (later revealved to be WWE 2K Battlegrounds) in 2020, while WWE 2K22 will be released in 2021 for current gen consoles and "probably" PCs.[31]

On April 27, 2020, 2K announced the spin-off title WWE 2K Battlegrounds.[32]

References
  1. Artus, Matthew. "Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns unveiled as WWE 2K20 cover Superstars". WWE. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  2. "WWE's Four Horsewomen Will Star in WWE 2K20's Showcase Mode". WWG. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  3. "WWE 2K20 Game Features". WWE2K. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  4. Aguilar, Matthew. "WWE 2K20 Adds Women to Career Mode for First Time Ever". WWG. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  5. "WWE 2K20 Developer Will Be Visual Concepts, Yuke's Working On Original Wrestling Game - Wrestlezone". Wrestlezone. Archived from the original on August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  6. "Details On Why Eminem Was Reported To Be Working On WWE 2K20 Soundtrack When He Wasn't". 411MANIA. Archived from the original on August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  7. EDT, Phillip Martinez On 8/5/19 at 9:34 AM (August 5, 2019). "Get ready to "step inside" 'WWE 2K20' on October 22". Newsweek. Archived from the original on August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  8. Coulson, Josh (August 5, 2019). "WWE 2K20: SmackDown 20th Anniversary Edition Will Include Hulk Hogan & Chyna". TheSportster. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  9. "#WWE2K20 on Twitter". Twitter. August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  10. "#WWE2K20 on Twitter". Twitter. August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  11. "WWE 2K20's DLC will introduce 'Fictional Realms'". Destructoid.
  12. "WWE 2K20 Has Some Great, New Additions And One Glaring Problem". GameSpot. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  13. "WWE 2K20's Originals DLC Pack Allows You To Play As "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt". GameSpot. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  14. "WWE 2K20's Bump in the Night Content is Now Live". ComicBook.com. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  15. "Batista Gets a Mad Max Makeover in WWE 2K20's New Wasteland Wanderers Originals DLC". ComicBook.com. December 28, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  16. "WWE 2K20 Gets New Update, Southpaw Wrestling DLC". GameSpot. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  17. Wilson, Ben (March 17, 2020). "WWE 2K20 DLC guide: who's in it and when is it out?". gamesradar. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  18. "WWE 2K20 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  19. "WWE 2K20 for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  20. "WWE 2K20 for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  21. "WWE 2K20".
  22. Wilson, Ben (October 24, 2019). "WWE 2K20 Review". GamesRadar+. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  23. Fowler, Matt (October 24, 2019). "WWE 2K20 Review". IGN. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  24. "This Is Not How Wrestling Ring Ropes Work, WWE 2K20 [Update]". Deadspin.
  25. Martin, Liam (October 21, 2019). "WWE 2K20 REVIEW: Terrible news for fans ahead of PS4, Xbox release date". Express.co.uk.
  26. Square, Push (October 22, 2019). "WWE 2K20 Is an Astoundingly Buggy Mess on PS4". Push Square.
  27. Mazique, Brian. "'WWE 2K20' Review: The Good, The Bad, The Bottom Line". Forbes.
  28. Wilson, Ben (October 24, 2019). "WWE 2K20 review". GamesRadar.
  29. #FixWWE2K20 Campaign Trending on Social Media Following Buggy Launch - IGN, retrieved April 27, 2020
  30. Mansoor, Saqib (January 1, 2020). "WWE 2K20 Refuses To Run In 2020". SegmentNext. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  31. "WWE 2K21 reportedly cancelled in favour of new game". GamesIndustry.biz.
  32. McWhertor, Michael (April 27, 2020). "2K confirms no WWE 2K21, announces WWE 2K Battlegrounds for fall 2020". Polygon.
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