| WWE 2K20 | |
|---|---|
 Cover art featuringBecky Lynch andRoman Reigns | |
| Developer | Visual Concepts |
| Publisher | 2K |
| Director | Lynell Jinks |
| Writer | Sean Conway |
| Series | WWE 2K |
| Platforms | |
| Release | October 22, 2019 |
| Genre | Sports |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
WWE 2K20 is aprofessional wrestling video game developed byVisual Concepts and published by2K. It was released worldwide on October 22, 2019, forMicrosoft Windows,PlayStation 4, andXbox One.[1] It is the twenty-first installment of theWWE series, the seventh under theWWE 2K banner, and the successor toWWE 2K19.2K20 is the first game in the series not to be developed byYuke's, which had developed every entry in the series since its inception in 2000. Visual Concepts, who had previously worked with Yuke's as co-developers since 2014, took over as lead studio for the series.
WWE 2K20received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with game critics noting a regression in quality compared to2K19. The game has since gained notoriety in both the wrestling and gaming communities for its many bugs at launch and other technical issues. In response to its failure, 2K would cancelWWE 2K21 and put the series on hiatus for two years, with a spin-off,WWE 2K Battlegrounds, released in 2020, followed by the main series' return withWWE 2K22, which released on March 11, 2022.
WWE 2K20's 2K Showcase mode revolves around the Four Horsewomen of WWE (Bayley,Becky Lynch,Charlotte Flair andSasha Banks), from Charlotte VS.Natalya for theNXT Women's Championship atNXT to a triple threat winner takes all match between Lynch, Flair andRonda Rousey for theRaw andSmackDown Women's Championships atWrestleMania 35.[2] Players take control of different unique models of Bayley, Banks, Lynch, and Flair, in 15 matches. The 2K Towers mode, first introduced inWWE 2K19, made its return to the series.[3]WWE 2K20 features a female MyCareer story alongside its male story, the first for 2K. (Previous THQ games had female stories)[4] The story is set in April 2029, where Red and Tre were inducted to theWWE Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2029, which happened beforeWrestleMania 45 inLas Vegas, Nevada (also known in-game as WrestleMania 2029, as a fictional version of that year's event), 11 years after the end of theWWE 2K19 MyCareer storyline, as in which, the matches follow the perspectives of their career before putting their spots on the line againstSamoa Joe and Brooklyn Von Braun at WrestleMania 45 at the end of the story.
The WWE Towers Mode Returned, with one of the towers, known as a "Story Tower", centered aroundRoman Reigns, with matches with unique commentary fromExtreme Rules in 2013, as a member ofThe Shield, withSeth Rollins, along withDean Ambrose by their side, againstTeam Hell No (Daniel Bryan andKane), toStomping Grounds in 2019, againstDrew McIntyre. All matches use the superstars' modern day counterparts and took place at the WrestleMania 35 arena.
WWE 2K20 is the first game in the series to be solely developed by Visual Concepts; previous entries were co-developed by Japanese developerYuke'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]
On August 5, 2019, 2K announcedWWE 2K20, with a trailer announcing Becky Lynch and Roman Reigns as cover stars.[7] In the trailer, it features various WWE Superstars and Legends attending a party at a huge mansion, before it's interrupted by Lynch crashing through theglass ceiling. Lynch then apologizes to the mansion's owner, who is revealed to beHulk Hogan. Lynch then turns around to face Reigns, who soon praises her for the scene, before then revealing them as the cover stars and the tagline "Step Inside". This marks the first game in the WWE 2K series to feature a female cover star (most recently,THQ'sWWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 featuredTorrie Wilson on the NTSC cover of the game), and the first game sinceWWE All Stars to have more than one cover star.
The collector's edition was themed around the 20th anniversary ofWWE SmackDown, including a signed card that featured a signed plaque from eitherKurt Angle,Edge orRey Mysterio, and a plaque featuring a piece of the SmackDown 2002–2008 ring mat.[8]
Four expansions were released for the game asdownloadable content under the banner "WWE 2K Originals", which include Showcase episodes, Story Towers, arenas, and character skins and accessories based on fantasy settings.[9][10] All DLC expansions (except for "Bump in the Night") were made available as part of aseason pass, while the season pass was bundled with the deluxe and collector's editions of the game.[11] The first, "Bump in the Night" (which was also included as a pre-order bonus), is a horror-themed expansion centered uponBray Wyatt's "The Fiend" persona, with a Showcase focusing onFinn Bálor, unleashing his true power as the "Demon King", fighting against "The Swampfather" Bray Wyatt and his forces, with Story Towers focusing on "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, Fed-UpSheamus, TwistedNikki Cross, Final GirlMandy Rose andDaniel Bryan, as well as ZombieSasha Banks andThanksRusev Day,[10][12] the second expansion "Wasteland Wanderers" is adystopian-themed expansion centered uponSeth the Wanderer in his quest to take down its overlord,Samoa Joe, in this Showcase, with Story Towers focusing on SurvivorElias, SurvivorRhea Ripley, SurvivorPete Dunne and SurvivorRoman Reigns, as well as Artic Shield Roman Reigns andNew YearsRicochet,[13] the third is based on WWE's digital seriesSouthpaw Regional Wrestling (a parody of local wrestling promotions in the 1980s), with a showcase focusing on the company under hostile takeover by Mr. Mackelroy (Tyler Breeze), purchasing the company and destroying it once and for all, until the Southpaw crew hoping to win the company's ownership back in a best-of-five series, with story towers focusing on Mr. Mackelroy (Tyler Breeze), Misfit Molly (Becky Lynch), The Perth Peppies (The IIconics) (Heather (Billie Kay) and Other Heather (Peyton Royce)) Big Bartholomew (Rusev), andStreet Zack Ryder and Street Curt Hawkins (Zack Ryder andCurt Hawkins),[14] and the fourth, "Empire of Tomorrow", carries a futuristic theme and a focus on female characters, with a showcase focusing on HackerAsuka (who speaks in her native language of Japanese during commentary in this showcase), who turned down on her offer from the Authority Megacorp, led by chairwomanAlexa Bliss, hoping to take down the megacorp's forces in Neo-Osaka, with story towers focusing on Robot HunterThe Miz, Robot HunterKeith Lee, HackerJohnny Gargano and HackerIo Shirai.[15]The New Day'sXavier Woods,Kofi Kingston andBig E were shown in each DLC showcase's opening and ending cutscenes.
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PC) 43/100[16] (PS4) 43/100[17] (XONE) 45/100[18] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| GameSpot | 2/10[21] |
| GamesRadar+ |    [19] |
| IGN | 4.3/10[20] |
| Shacknews | 3/10[22] |
WWE 2K20 received "generally unfavorable reviews" on all platforms according toreview aggregatorMetacritic.[16][17][18] Reviewers criticized the physics, graphics, targeting, change in controls and the numerous glitches.[23][24]
Brian Fowler ofIGN said the game was a "mess", and that the game's quality had degraded since its predecessor, and many of the character models looked like they had "crawled out of aPS2-era wrestling game."[20]GamesRadar+'s Ben Wilson gave the verdict that "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."[25] Writing forGameSpot, Richard Wakeling criticized the MyCareer mode, the new control layout and the numerous technical issues, and declared as the worst of theWWE 2K series, and the moment the series "hit rock bottom".[21]
The game received notable backlash on social media platforms, where thehashtag #FixWWE2K20 began trending.[26] Many players who purchased the collector's edition revealed that their art card was not signed, with Edge and 2K immediately sending the editions back for re-signs. At the start of 2020, the game was rendered almost unplayable due to a "Y2k20" bug.[27]
WWE 2K20 was named among the worst games of 2019 byIGN,[28] Metacritic,[29]Mint[30] andPlayStation Universe.[31] The game was among the nominations forWrestleCrap's Gooker Award for the worst gimmick, storyline, or event in wrestling in 2019, losing to the main event ofthat year's Hell in a Cell. The site noted that Hell in a Cell havingWWE 2K20 as its presenting sponsor may have foreshadowed the show's quality, remarking that "seeing the Gooker winner being sponsored by the second runner up for the award is a whole new rancid territory."[32]
In April 2020, former WWE video games writer Justin Leeper reported that the successor toWWE 2K20,WWE 2K21 had been cancelled due to the pandemic as one of the reasons. The decision was made due to theimpact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the video game industry and the poor sales and reception for2K20. Leeper would go on to state that 2K would publish a different WWE game in 2020, whileWWE 2K22 will be released in 2021 for current-gen consoles and "probably" PCs.[33] However in 2021,WWE 2K22's release was delayed to March 2022.
In April 2020, during WWE's 1st Quarter Earnings Call, WWE ChairmanVince McMahon was asked if2K21 was canceled, before he then turned the question over to WWE CFO, Frank Riddick, who revealed that the game was canceled. On April 27, 2020, 2K announced the spin-off titleWWE 2K Battlegrounds, which was released on September 18, 2020, to mixed reviews.[34][35]
