WWE 2K26 - PlayStation 5 Review

WWE 2K26 by developer Visual Concepts and publisher 2K Games—Sony PlayStation 5 review written by Nick with a copy provided by the publisher.

#WWE #WWE2K26

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes 

This latest iteration in the WWE 2K series does exactly what you’d hope for from an annual franchise. WWE 2K26 improves upon a solid foundation by making smaller, calculated improvements and providing an insane amount of content. The core game isn’t really a whole lot different from last year, but the base that Visual Concepts has been building for a few years now has been a really good one. The end result? A thoroughly entertaining action game set in the WWE universe. 

After the series had gone somewhat awry a few years ago, the subsequent releases in the WWE 2K series have been really good, building on its strengths and tweaking the things that maybe didn’t work as well from the prior year. The end result is a very polished wrestling game that almost at times feels like it has too much going on at times. Not in a bad way – just in a ‘where do I want to start?’ kind of way. Last year we reviewed WWE 2K25 (scoring it an 8.5 / 10 if you’d like to read it here), touching on its numerous modes including a new one: The Island. It was an ambitious mode that felt just a bit underbaked and a bit focused on microtransactions. Not the best of combinations, but you could see the potential that was there as the WWE series was trying to pull some inspiration from their NBA 2K one in creating a large virtual playground where you could create your own wrestler and compete with others online.

This year put a large focus on The Island and its revisions, and the experience is certainly better for it. It’s not a mandatory mode, it’s not my favorite one, but it’s still enjoyable if you have a tolerance for microtransactions. This definitely feels like the mode most likely to get you to spend actual money on the 2K VC (Virtual Currency). It’s a competitive mode that also offers a fair bit of replay value for those it clicks with. There’s factions now (again, feeling a bit like the NBA 2K games in recent years), and both women’s and men’s divisions. It’s easier to get into matches and into the zany, over-the-top antics than last year, making The Island a lot more approachable than last year. You still wander about the various parts of The Island, looking for quests and completing objectives in an RPG-lite fashion. It’s fun, and most importantly it’s better than last year’s release.

There’s plenty of other modes here to call out as well. You have basic quick Play, which gives you whatever modes and rule customizations you could want for a quick rumble. Showcase returns this year, and as it often does it focuses on a specific wrestler. This year’s iteration follows the charismatic CM Punk through his lengthy wrestling career, and I enjoyed it more than the last year or two as it splices in moments of ‘how it happened’ with the freedom to wrestle your opponent how you like between key points. There’s some fun fantasy scenarios sprinkled in here as well, though it is worth calling out that some match objectives can be a bit frustration – but that’s often the case with this mode. It’s still a fun way to give a bit of a WWE history lesson leveraging one of the most entertaining wrestlers on the roster.

MyFaction is a bit of a card collecting / fantasy wrestling mode (similar to other card collecting modes in other sports titles) where you build out a roster of varied wrestlers completing objectives so you can earn more currency used for buying more packs of cards. It’s a loop that works well enough, though I find it more compelling in the NBA 2K series, and is another mode that tries to get into your wallet a bit. It was the main microtransaction draw for the WWE 2K games before The Island came along. 

MyRise is back and still my favorite mode. It’s a combination of storytelling, role-playing elements and lots of over-the-top action with a branching story mode that lets you live out your own center stage wrestling fantasies. MyGM makes a return as well, and is probably my second favorite mode. Here you draft a roster and put on shows playing the role of manager as you compete against the other brands to outdo them on a show-by-show basis. 

Universe is an open sandbox style of mode that lets you run the wrestling universe and set up the matches and scenarios however you’d like. Combined with the robust Creations options where you can modify and create a plethora of wrestlers, these two modes go hand-in-hand together nicely. There’s another addition that ties into the above, as there’s a battle pass (called Ringside Pass) added this year. Personally, I have mixed feelings on these – they give you good incentive to play (I regularly hit max level during the seasons of NBA 2K last year for the free tier), but it does feel like yet another attempt to get more out of players than just the base price of the game. But for some, the additional unlocks that can be added will be worth the grind, I’m sure.

So – that’s a ton of modes and content, like I mentioned at the beginning. Give credit where it is due, but if you enjoy wrestling there should be at least a couple of different modes here that appeal to you. This is true whether you’re more of a solo gamer or one who likes to play online with others, whether you want to be in the ring battling or just managing like a puppet master. That’s a good deal of value – but it only works if the core gameplay works. Thankfully, WWE 2K26 delivers in spades here.

The in-ring action has been much better over the last couple of years, and this season continues to improve upon it in small but notable ways. Collision detection seems better than last year, with hits seeming to land (or miss) appropriately. The series also took a bit of a turn towards faster, more arcade-like action in many respects, but with an increased focus on reversals there’s a bit of strategy there as well. If you’re familiar with the series, it’s not too hard to jump in and wrestle somewhat effectively right out of the gates, but if you are new to it I imagine some of the concepts such as reversals will take a bit of getting used to. Still, there’s a fun, realistic flow to most of the matches and it represents the wrestling well.

In terms of presentation, WWE 2K26 is pretty fantastic. Wrestlers are immediately identifiable, there’s loads of spectacle (entrances, story moments) and familiar voice acting with a pretty great soundtrack of songs. Add in a massive roster of stars and this is one shiny bit of video game packaging that does justice to the IP it’s based on.

WWE 2K26 is the best in the series so far and overall, a very entertaining wrestling experience. The action feels weighty and generally fluid; there’s a ton of modes and oodles of content. Fans of wrestling should find plenty to like here, whether they prefer single player or multiplayer options. The elephant in the room is that there’s a lot of little ways that the game tries to draw out some extra money from you, but these are all optional - and considerably less important in the single player modes, which is where I prefer to spend most of my considerable time with this year’s release.

Score: 8.75 / 10