It was revealed on Saturday evening during WWE’s SummerSlam event that 2K Sports made the decision to delay WWE 2K22 until March 2022. The decision has seen mixed reactions from fans across the internet, but that’s not the only place having issues with the delay.
Speaking with multiple sources at 2K Sports, developer Visual Concepts, and beyond, there have been quite a few high-level decisions causing concern among the teams.
SGO has learned that there’s been infighting regarding direction of the game. 2K Sports and WWE have been going back and forth on pushing back WWE 2K22 since almost immediately after the game was announced. Most of those within WWE wanted the game to release in it’s normal Survivor Series window. Those from 2K Sports and Visual Concepts, on the other hand, pushed hard for a delay of the launch.
One of the reasons given to us were the sheer amount of releases over the past year. The team has been working on scanning wrestlers and building new character models pretty much from the ground up. Well, a number of superstars built were on the release list. One source even said, “this is shaping up to be the most outdated roster a game has seen”.
The game is expected to include a large amount of wrestlers no longer with the WWE, but the March release window now gives them time to adjust with removing wrestlers and adding any new ones WWE may want.
Heads Are Butting Over WWE 2K22 Delay Decision
The roster cuts aren’t just the only point of content between the parties. With the miserable release that was WWE 2K20, WWE has, apparently, been more difficult to deal with during this development cycle.
WWE has made in know they want a better product this time around. Despite still making record profits, the largest wrestling company in the World lost quite a bit due to the poor launch and reception surrounding WWE 2K20. Things got really bad when it reached a point where refunds were starting to be issued.
There was a lot of talk of whether it may be time for a split between the parties. 2K Sports has been the publisher of WWE video games since taking over for THQ in 2013 as part of the former studios closure. However, after years of working with Yukes as the developer of the series, Visual Concepts took over solely for WWE 2K20.
Fast-forward to early 2020. While WWE and Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of 2K Sports, were having multiple meetings over the future, the Stamford-based company did hang other publishers out as far as possible future partners.
“It was like threats to cancel cable,” one person said. “Threats would come out of them claiming to have interest from one company here or there. I don’t know how credible that was though, or just idle threats.”
The last extension of the agreement was made in 2016. Though no terms had been disclosed other than it was a “multi-year” deal, rumors had it at a six-to-seven years. With WWE 2K22, WWE has made it known, almost annoyingly so, how much this game means to the future of the franchise. To put it bluntly, it could be the end if it fails both critically and commercially again.
With the extra pressure during the build, the development team at Visual Concepts, already pinched, underfunded and understaffed compared to the past, have openly been angry.
“It just hasn’t been a fun place to be,” one source said. “Second guessing happens constantly because of a desperation to get things right.”
The one bright spot, many said, is that they ultimately got the delay for WWE 2K22. With many of the game’s elements being built from the ground up, it makes things less hectic, especially for some major new additions to the series.
“We are fans and gamers like everyone out there,” one developer said. “We are doing everything we possibly can to make the wrestling game fans want. From modes to how it feels in the ring, we want this to be the wrestling fan’s wrestling game.”
With everything going on behind the scenes, however, I had to look into the possibility of WWE getting out of the deal with Take-Two sooner than the expiration.
“It wouldn’t take as much as people would assume,” they said. “That’s how bad it’s been. But one great game and fan response could turn things right around.”
Are you confident in what’s to come with WWE 2K22 after its delay? Let us know in the comment section, and stick with Sports Gamers Online for more.
[…] [Source: SGO] […]
[…] new report from SportsGamersOnline details the continually worsening relationship between WWE and developer 2K Sports. This comes […]
[…] https://www.sportsgamersonline.com/games/wrestling/wwe-2k22-delay-details-strained/ […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] ultimately, the character roster needs the most work since it’s now outdated. Ironically, the WWE is reportedly unhappy about the delay, but it’s primarily responsible for […]
[…] Details Behind WWE 2K22 Delay, Relationship Strained – SGO […]
[…] Fuente […]
[…] GameRant รายงานจาก SportsGamersOnline เผยว่าความสัมพันธ์ระหว่าง 2K Games และ WWE เริ่มไม่ลงรอยกัน หลัง WWE 2K22 ได้เลื่อนวางจำหน่ายเกมไปเป็นปี 2022 ทั้งที่ตัวเกมมีกำหนดการวางจำหน่ายที่เร็วกว่านี้ […]
[…] latest details about WWE 2K22 came from Sports Gamers Online reportunderlined ongoing tensions between developers and WWE contractor and the direction of the […]
[…] Description Latest set of details about “WWE 2K22” come from a Sports Gamers Online Report, Which underscores the ongoing tensions between the developers and their WWE contractor, as well as […]
[…] [Source: SGO] […]
[…] new report from Sports Sports details the continuing growing relationship between WWE and the development of 2K Games. This comes […]
[…] a report by SGO, they claim that multiple sources state that officials at WWE were not happy with the delay. It is […]
[…] August 2021 by admin A new report from SportsGamersOnline details the continually worsening relationship between WWE and developer 2K Sports. This comes […]
[…] the exact reasons behind the delay. This speculation is, however, backed up by a recent report from Sports Gamers Online. Their sources called the relationship between 2K and WWE “seriously strained,” which falls in […]
[…] Source […]
[…] Source […]
[…] the exact reasons behind the delay. This speculation is, however, backed up by a recent report from Sports Gamers Online. Their sources called the relationship between 2K and WWE “seriously strained,” which […]
[…] the exact reasons behind the delay. This speculation is, however, backed up by a recent report from Sports Gamers Online. Their sources called the relationship between 2K and WWE “seriously strained,” which […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] [ที่มา: SGO] […]
[…] article of Sports players online It highlights recent tensions between the developers and their WWE contractor, though no entity has […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] object by means of Sports activities Players On-line highlights the new tensions between builders and their WWE contractor, regardless that neither […]
[…] [Source: SGO] […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] [Fonte: SGO ] […]
[…] on 2K Sports activities and developer Visible Ideas’ courting with WWE itself (thank you, Sports Gamers Online). In keeping with SGO’s assets, WWE hasn’t been too proud of the sport’s sluggish […]
[…] article Sports gamers online points to the recent tensions between developers and their WWE contractor, although neither entity […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] article by Sports Gamers Online highlights the recent tensions between developers and their WWE contractor, though neither […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow […]
[…] put a strain on 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts’ relationship with WWE itself (thanks, Sports Gamers Online). According to SGO’s sources, WWE hasn’t been too happy with the game’s slow development […]
[…] [Source – SGO] […]
[…] một báo cáo gần đây của SportsGamersOnline, một số nguồn tin nội bộ đã tuyên bố rằng mối quan hệ giữa WWE và 2K Games […]
[…] to a recent report by SportsGamersOnline, several inside sources claimed that relations between WWE and 2K Games had grown strained during […]
[…] article by Sports Gamers Online highlights the recent tensions between developers and their WWE contractor, though neither […]
[…] article by Sports Gamers Online highlights the recent tensions between developers and their WWE contractor, though neither […]
[…] article by Sports Gamers Online highlights the recent tensions between developers and their WWE contractor, though neither […]
[…] article by Sports Gamers Online highlights the recent tensions between developers and their WWE contractor, though neither […]
[…] [Source: SGO] […]
[…] according to a report on Sports Gamers Online, WWE was against the decision to delay the upcoming […]
[…] [Fuente: SGO ] […]
[…] According to video game website Sports Gamer Online, 2K Sports and WWE 2K22 developer Visual Concepts have been butting heads with WWE over several factors in the games development, straining the relationship. The main cause for the tension appears to be over the release date of WWE 2K22. The report claims that WWE pushed for the game to be released in the Fall of 2021, as previous games had been, while 2K and Visual Concepts pushed for the delay into the spring, which they ultimately received. […]
[…] [Sumber: SGO] […]