WWE 2K26 review: More improvements, new issues
The Road to WrestleMania is upon us, and it means it’s time for the yearly WWE 2K game to grace fans with its presence. Yes, WWE 2K26 is set to hit the ring for this year’s edition and unlike the actual Road to Mania this year, it’s a game that manages to excite players as usual, but not without its fair share of issues that keep it from being a Hall of Fame-worthy experience.
Look In My Eyes, What Do You See?
WWE 2K26’s in-ring action does remain largely the same from previous years, but new additions include a new debuff that appears when your stamina runs out completely. This meter essentially locks you out of reversing moves, so careful strategizing will be prioritized over spamming moves over and over again. Expanded combat on barricades and the inclusion of corner springboard attacks add to the variety of ways you can dish out pain.
And speaking of “dishing out pain,” WWE 2K26 adds a new bevy of weapons to the chaos, with thumbtacks being the most notable of them. For an added touch, the thumbtacks remain stuck on wrestlers who take bumps on them. These weapons now work in tandem with the reintroduction of weapons physics and even some ragdolling, especially on falls from high distances. This is none more evident in the new Backstage Brawl environment known as The Scrapyard which seemed to be designed with the new physics in mind. This environment features many high ledges where wrestlers can throw each other from great distances to create some truly insane high spots, along with several weapons ready for your use at your disposal. While those high-danger spots are fun to pull off, nothing beats the simple joy of delivering a powerbomb on the side of some steel steps.
There’s four new matches that add to the growing number of match types already present from previous games. Three Stages of Hell, which we recently saw play out on SmackDown early in the year, is basically a more extreme ⅔ falls match where you can pick unique match stipulations per “Stage”. With damage taken retaining through each stage, this match type truly lives up to its hellish namesake.
“I Quit” matches make their return to the franchise with a new mechanic. At various points during the match, you can get the ref to ask your foe to say those two infamous words, triggering a mini game where a wrestler on the verge of quitting has to prevent a meter from draining completely by hitting green markers within a circle. The more damage you take, the tougher it is to avoid the meter from draining. A neat touch is that a few WWE wrestlers have unique lines tied to this match on top from the generic voices heard.
The Inferno match is also back, where the goal is to set your opponent on fire.The ring is surrounded by fire and moves performed will fill a meter that causes the fire to shoot up completely once filled. Then it’s a matter of dragging your opponent to the fire to set them alight for the win. For added chaos, you can freely leave the ring before the fire reaches full Inferno and grab weapons to make these fiery encounters feel even more brutal.
Last and probably least, is the Dumpster Match, which is just literally the previously-introduced Casket Match, but with a dumpster instead of a casket. It’s nice for those that want some variety, but it’s otherwise nothing to write home about.
Presentation-wise, the game truly shines as it feels more like a true-to-life WWE broadcast than ever before. Before matches there’s now a degree of control where you can blast pyro at will or hit a couple of preset taunts. It’s not necessarily game-changing, per se, but does make for some entertaining moments when, say, Seth Rollins’ usual entrance strut is occasionally broken up by him doing a few “crybaby” emotes randomly.
This emphasis on presentation extends to even the start of the matches, where players can choose to shake their opponent’s hands (or deliver a devious cheapshot), engage in a little chain wrestling action, or even just rush them down. It helps make the matches in WWE 2K26 feel even more like their real-life counterparts.
Commentary sees Wade Barrett and Booker T join Michael Cole and Corey Graves to call the action, and I have to say, this commentary quartet is really good in the game. Of the two new additions, Barrett’s commentary is the strongest and you can tell he had a lot of fun recording his lines.
Still, it’s not all perfect when it comes to presentation, as while wrestler models can look really good, some still look a bit off and long hair physics still remains a persistent issue, even with the move to current-gen only for these games.
“Do I Have Everyone’s Attention Now?”
Showcase is front and centre once again, with cover star CM Punk being the focus this year. Players will play through some of Punk’s greatest WWE matches, as well as some fantasy contests that casts Punk in “what if” scenarios. If you’re familiar with the Showcase format, then you’ll know how it works: complete specific objectives before winning the match to unlock arenas and wrestlers – most of which are Punk variations. It’s not exactly what I’d call “fun”, especially if you’re halfway through and you’re asked to hit a certain amount of moves on Punk’s foe for what feels like the 100th time. At the very least, cutscenes between matches that feature Punk’s insights on the particular match you’re about to compete in are well-done.
For those not wanting to go through that busywork, there’s a 20-man gauntlet that can be played instead. This is an alternate way to get all of the Showcase unlockables, but be warned, it’s automatically set to the game’s hardest difficulty, and it’s designed to see if you’ve got what it takes to be called “Best in the World”.
MyRise is back once more and as the title of this year’s edition indicates, it’s all about “The Comeback,” where you take your created male or female wrestler on a journey back to the top after two years away. Story branches throughout this mode allow you to make your wrestler a face or a heel and offers up unique rewards, most of which are earned through so-called “Rise Matches” that you complete to progress to the next part of the story. It’s relatively short compared to previous MyRise stories, but I liked the story and the voice acting, particularly from the main player(s) which was well done.
The Creation Suite, a perennial favorite among fans, has seen the biggest benefit from WWE 2K26 moving to current-gen consoles only. Now with 200 create-a-wrestler slots to play with, as well as the return of body morphing and two-tone hairstyles, plus improved layers, there’s more ways for players to create the wrestler of their dreams as they see fit. Unfortunately, that same level of attention for Create-a-Superstar doesn’t seem to be evident in Create-an-Arena, where the only notable changes are the addition of LED barricades and a large library of ring aprons from past WWE events.
Universe Mode, the popular sandbox for players to create their own shows and let things play out however they see fit, has definitely seen quite a few improvements. A new “Creation Wizard” allows players to shape their Universe even before the action truly begins, with PLE schedules, rosters, and base champions being able to be set in stone. The WWE Draft now appears as a week-long event in Universe Mode and can also similarly be edited to your heart’s desire. This, on top of additions to the promo system and Money in the Bank cash-ins, make it feel like the developers have listened to those wanting to see tangible change in Universe Mode.
The best new addition to Universe Mode, however, is the “Watch Show” feature, which allows players to experience their Universe’s shows as if they were watching a real WWE program. The broadcast camera angle with cuts to action shots really help to add to how lifelike Watch Show can feel at times.
MyGM is back for more with expanded seasons that can run up to 50 weeks, on top of being able to book an even wider variety of matches in order to prove your superiority as the greatest General Manager in offline, online, and even against the computer.
An Island of Issues
There’s tons to like about WWE 2K26, yes, but as mentioned earlier, it’s not all smooth sailing. A lot of that comes down to modes introduced in this game and WWE 2K25, namely The Island and the Ringside Pass.
For better or worse, The Island makes its return in WWE 2K26 and it’s seen some changes. When you enter The Island, there are now cutscenes as opposed to just dialogue screens. They anchor a story of three warring factions looking to take control of The Island after last year’s events: one led by Punk, another by Rhea Ripley, and the third under Cody Rhodes’ command. Even with that change, a lot of the issues I had with The Island’s introduction in WWE 2K25 persists – namely the fact that a lot of creation items are locked to this mod. The story for The Island is fine, but between the constant lags I experienced and needing to plunk down real-world money to make your Island wrestler better or get all the mode-exclusive cosmetics, I’m still not a fan.
The other “big” monetization pit is MyFaction. Intergender support is new for this go-around, as is a chemistry system that takes into account certain attributes amongst your MyFaction roster to determine the team’s overall chemistry. Quick Swap matches are essentially a wrestling version of fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom, where you can swap in your team members out with a push of a button, complete with a nice teleportation animation. Other than that, your enjoyment of MyFaction will boil down on how much you can tolerate these “Ultimate Team” style of modes in sports games and how much of a grind you’re willing to commit to to get the absolute best cards for your faction without spending real-world money on currency.
Of course, we have to talk about the huge new elephant in the room introduced in WWE 2K26, and that’s the Ringside Pass system. Taking inspiration from Fortnite-style Battlepass mechanics, this replaces the former DLC pack model of previous games. Here, players will have to grind across several modes to earn points to unlock new wrestlers, title belts, and other assorted goodies through various seasons. The first “season” centers on the WWE-owned AAA and some of its stars, with Mr. Iguana and Vikingo included among the unlockables.
The Ringside Pass has understandably gotten a mixed reaction from fans, especially those opposed to a Battlepass format for unlockables. And I have to say, I tend to agree with those reactions, especially considering how big a grind is being asked of players. This seems more designed for the hardcore WWE 2K players who can spend long hours grinding to unlock more and more from the Pass. And even then, the painfully slow rate the RXP bar fills will make this grind a very long one. That’s not even getting into the fact that the game seems like it’s subtly pushing players to buy tier skips to just unlock everything. In short, this Ringside Pass system sets a precedent that may turn away players from future games if it becomes something permanent moving forward.
Final Verdict
Even with that, it’s hard to say that the in-ring experience of WWE 2K26 hasn’t improved from previous years. It seems that Visual Concepts has refined the style of wrestling it has been working on since WWE 2K22 and it shows with what 2K26 offers under the hood. As the only game in town when it comes to major wrestling video games, it’s still clearly the cream of the crop. But the increasing turn towards microtransactions in The Island, MyFaction, and Ringside Pass is still very concerning and could very well threaten the franchise’s overall popularity in the near future.
Pros
- Nails the little things almost perfectly
- In-ring action more refined than ever
- Universe Mode’s freedom even better than ever
- Presentation at its best, with commentary even better
- Ragdoll and weapons physics
Cons
- Showcase Mode still feels like a chore
- Ringside Pass will be a huge turnoff for casual players
- Microtransactions have increased
- Graphics could be better, especially on some wrestler likenesses
Rating: 8/10
WWE 2K26 released on March 6th in early access. A review code was provided by the publisher.
WWE SmackDown recapper. Former NXT PLE/WWE Saturday Night's Main Event/fill-in recapper.