According to reports 2K Games will not be publishing its usual annual wrestling title this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Justin Leeper, who previously wrote narrative for earlier WWE games, published a video sharing details of big changes to the series this year. It was noted that the cancellation was said to be 50/50 back in December, but then in January word was that they were “medium speed ahead” with the WWE 2K21 video game and that it would be the same kind of game that 2K20 was, for better or worse. Now word is that the decision to cancel the WWE 2K21 video game has been finalised.
“I have heard from reliable sources and I truly believe that WWE 2K21 has been cancelled. There will be no game this year,” he said. He also pointed to the fact that this year’s WrestleMania event, historically used as a platform to announce or tease the next WWE game, featured no such news.
According to Ringside News, Leeper previously shared insight on why WWE 2K20 suffered so many issues. In his video, Leeper said these issues influenced the decision to scrap the game and suggested the series would benefit from a year off. He alluded to changes behind the scenes, most likely the split between 2K and the series’ long-time developer Yuke’s, and that current developer Visual Concepts needs more time to become better accustomed with the process of making these games.
Leeper also suggested the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted production and distribution, which will also have affected 2K’s plans.However, while his opening claim said there would be no traditional WWE 2K this year, he did hint that a “palate cleanser” is on the way.
While the 2K21 video game has been canceled, a new WWE video game is planned to be released later this year. It was noted that 2K will be releasing a “different kind” of WWE video game this year, from a different developer, not Visual Concepts. There’s no word yet on details for that game, but Leeper expects an announcement to be made in the near future.
On a related note, they are still planning to release a WWE 2K22 video game in 2021, at least as of now. However, it was noted that WWE 2K22 likely will not be released on Next-Gen consoles as it will still be released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and likely PC. It’s possible that the consoles could change this far out, but that was the word from Leeper.