It appears that World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) might be ending its relationship with Take-Two Interactive and 2K Sports in search for a new publisher.
According to a report by Fightful Select earlier today, WWE has recently held talks with publishing giant Electronic Arts (EA) for the future of its wrestling games. Such discussions have taken in the past but WWE became particularly interested in licensing a new publishing partner “after the disappointment that was WWE 2K20 and the lackluster reception to WWE 2K Battlegrounds.”
WWE 2K20, described by wrestling fans as the worst game of all time, was a complete disaster on many levels and the sole reason why 2K Sports had to delay WWE 2K21 by another year to make amends.
WWE 2K22 releases in a couple of days and will reportedly be a “make or break” for the franchise, meaning that sales of WWE 2K22 will ultimately decide if Take-Two Interactive loses its wrestling license or not.
WWE has had talks with EA for future video games, per @MikeStrawMedia on Fightful Select. This could be huge for the WWE gaming brand.
Read the full story at Fightful Select.https://t.co/GPnpemvBK6 pic.twitter.com/P30Io9HnVM
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) March 7, 2022
“WWE has shown a lot of frustration with the reception and lack of success of recent games,” reads the report. “The gaming market is a major selling point for them, and they believe they’ve fallen behind the competition.”
Considering that EA has already been contacted for the future of its wrestling gaming brand, it could be that WWE has little faith in WWE 2K22 doing well in sales. That being said, early reviews of the game are actually positive with multiple critics admitting the gameplay to be much more enjoyable than previous installments in the franchise.
Take-Two Interactive and 2K Sports have been helming the WWE 2K brand for less than a decade now, the upcoming new installment being the eighth mainline entry in the series.
