Over the next few months, the makers of WWE 2K22 have promised some interesting behind-the-scenes video from their newest release. Last year, 2K and Visual Concepts placed the squared circle series on hold due to the disappointing launch of WWE 2K20, which was riddled with bugs and crashes, rendering the game unplayable and casting a pall over the long-running WWE gaming franchise.
WWE gamers were introduced to WWE 2K Battlegrounds last year instead of a true sequel, a cartoonish effort to revive the arcade-style old-school wrestling games. It received only a marginally stronger reception than the infamous WWE 2K20. However, as promised in its launch trailer during last month’s WrestleMania, 2K returns to the more serious mat-simulation market with WWE 2K22.
WWE 2K22’s creators have revealed that in the coming months, they will give fans a closer look at the game’s development phase in a brief YouTube video that was posted earlier today. Visual Concepts artistic director Lynell Jinks promises a special look at 2k22’s motion capture, character design, and facial recognition, which he claims is just part of the process of making sure the next game “hits different” from the previous one. Below is a link to the entire YouTube stream.
The world of wrestling-themed video games is becoming more entertaining. Aside from WWE 2K22, there was a new patent filing for the Nintendo 64 classic WWE No Mercy – but this is more likely to do with merchandise, or a resurrected PPV show than a remaster of the influential game.
In addition, competing promotion All-Elite Wrestling is working on its own game franchise, including recruiting former WWE developer Yukes, as it has done with some of Vince McMahon’s former employees in the last year or so. That isn’t even considering how wrestlers have become well-known celebrities in the gaming world, such as New Day member Xavier Woods, who hosts a video game rivalry show on the newly resurrected G4TV.
It’s no secret that 2K and Visual Concepts will face a difficult task in regaining fans’ confidence after the debacle that was WWE 2K20. Perhaps by giving some fans some insight into how the newest brand is being rebuilt from the ground up, WWE 2K22 will be able to reclaim some of the broken goodwill when it releases this fall. In any case, thanks to Lynell Jinks’ videos, players can hope to see more of the game in the coming months.
