WWE is in the midst of one of its hottest periods ever. The brand is firing on all cylinders in the lead-up to WrestleMania 41, earning a massive surge of mainstream interest in the wake of John Cena’s shocking heel turn. Enthusiasm for WWE is reaching heights it hasn’t seen since the Attitude Era, and so there’s a great deal of pressure on WWE 2K25 to meet expectations and keep the company’s momentum going strong. WWE 2K25 could have easily rested on its laurels and fallen into the annual sports game trap of delivering a game with minimal improvements, but instead 2K and Visual Concepts have gone above and beyond to produce a fantastic WWE video game to match the hype of the current television product.
WWE 2K25 boasts a gigantic roster of wrestlers, with a nice selection of legends and modern stars to choose from. Players can battle it out in classic local and online multiplayer brawls, and they can also indulge in the many other game modes. There is a dizzying amount of great content here, with 2K and Visual Concepts releasing one of the most fully-featured wrestling games to date.
WWE 2K25 Has All the Modes You Want and More
Showcase Mode is the centerpiece of WWE 2K games every year, with each installment choosing a new subject to focus on. Past years have highlighted the careers of stars like Rey Mysterio and John Cena, but the WWE 2K25 Showcase instead shines a spotlight on The Bloodline stable. The WWE 2K25 Showcase offers select Bloodline matches and lets players relive those bouts, with objectives often geared to recreating certain moments that happened in the real-world fights. In an interesting twist, WWE 2K25‘s Showcase also features “what if” scenarios that imagine dream matches like what if 3 Minute Warning fought The Authors of Pain in an Extreme Rules match, or what if Rikishi beat “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at No Mercy 2000 instead of the other way around. This lets Showcase highlight historic matches without putting the player in the awkward position of losing on purpose for the sake of historical accuracy.
This time around, WWE 2K25 doesn’t yank control away from the player to show live-action clips, and the objectives don’t micromanage quite as much. This is all greatly appreciated, though there is still some room for improvement. Some WWE 2K25 Showcase objectives are timed, likely to create a sense of urgency and make the matches more exciting, but instead it only makes them aggravating. Failing one objective means missing out on nearly all the bonus rewards and having to redo the entire match. A few of the timers are way too short to the point where if the opponent happens to get a move in that has any kind of extended animation, players may as well restart right then and there. Still, despite the aggravation that may come about from the mode, it’s still worth doing for the rewards if nothing else.
Minor complaints aside, WWE 2K25‘s Showcase is a big step up from previous years, and the same goes for MyRise. I’m not typically big on MyRise, as I find its cutscenes overbearing and its pacing to be awful, but I’ve had the exact opposite experience with WWE 2K25‘s take on the mode. The WWE 2K25 MyRise gets straight into the action, with a rollercoaster of a story full of twists and turns as NXT wrestlers invade the main roster. This year’s MyRise combines the men’s and women’s stories into a single cohesive plot, with player choice once again a factor in how exactly the events unfold. WWE 2K25 is the first time I’ve been invested enough in MyRise to actually look forward to playing it more, and so those that already liked the mode are in for a treat.
MyGM is the Best It’s Been Since SmackDown vs. Raw 2008
I’ll be spending more time with MyRise than I usually do, but I already know the vast majority of my time with WWE 2K25 moving forward will be spent in MyGM. MyGM, formerly known as General Manager mode, has long been one of my favorite game modes. It disappeared after SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, but made its barebones return in WWE 2K22. Since the rather lackluster WWE 2K22 take on General Manager mode, improvements have been made each year, slowly getting MyGM back to how great the mode was at its height.
WWE 2K25 is far and away the best MyGM has been since its comeback. It addresses many of the shortcomings found in previous iterations, with mostly-accurate title belt lineups for the various shows instead of generic belts, online multiplayer for up to four players, and cross-brand PLEs. Cross-brand pay-per-views were some of the most exciting events in SmackDown vs. Raw 2008‘s General Manager mode, so it’s awesome to see 2K25 bring them back.
WWE 2K25 MyGM mode has players competing to book the best shows possible across 25-week seasons. Players are tasked with booking rivalries, managing their superstars’ health and contracts, and utilizing power-up cards to gain an advantage or screw over their competition. Each PLE has men’s and women’s cross-brand matches where the winner gets a big reward. For example, winning the Money in the Bank cross-brand matches gets players a card that they can cash in for an instant $100,000 that they can use to sign new talent or upgrade their shows. The increased rate of cross-brand matches makes MyGM feel more competitive and ultimately makes the mode more engaging than it’s been since its return. There are still nitpicks, like potentially losing one’s active champions at the end-season draft instead of simply letting players keep their champions by default, and there are still some match types missing, but there’s always next year.
In the meantime, fans can rest assured that all the other WWE 2K mainstays are present and accounted for in WWE 2K25. The game has an exhaustive suite of creation modes that let players make their own superstars, championships, and more. Universe is back with the return of promos and is once again a mode that WWE fans can easily sink hours into. The divisive MyFACTION mode also makes its return, but the card-based game mode is about the same as always and nothing to write home about. Not everything will appeal to everyone, but there’s no denying WWE 2K25 is feature-rich and is absolutely stuffed with content.
Exploring The Island of Relevancy
WWE 2K25 not only brings back the biggest game modes from previous entries, but it also introduces a brand-new mode in The Island, a 50-player online multiplayer hub that has custom characters competing for a WWE contract at the invitation of Roman Reigns. Exclusive to the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game, the titular island is like a WWE theme park, decorated with fun, deep cut callbacks that hardcore fans will appreciate.
The Island revolves entirely around VC, WWE 2K25‘s virtual currency. VC can be earned in-game by completing certain quests and participating in matches, with players then able to spend it at the many shops dotted around the island, including what is quite literally a Nike store. Unfortunately, everything on The Island is rather expensive. Haircuts cost 9,000 VC, for example, and I averaged only 170 VC or so per match. While there are opportunities to earn larger quantities of VC, going strictly by quest match winnings, it would take a whopping 52 matches or so to get enough VC for a haircut. It’s possible that PvP matches have greater VC payouts, but I was unable to test that mode in my time with the game. Regardless, all the other cosmetics are similarly expensive, so players should brace themselves for having to pay out the nose for everything from luchador masks to tattoos.
Of course, one can choose to ignore The Island’s cosmetics, and that’s honestly the best way to go about it. Things are too expensive, and the obvious goal here is to push players to spend real money on VC to get what they want. And when you consider the fact that 2K routinely shuts WWE video games down after only a couple of years, it doesn’t make any sense at all to invest in this game’s microtransactions. It’s not a proper live-service game, and it’s unlikely to be supported for more than a couple of years.
The problem is that leveling up one’s wrestler on The Island is also tied to VC, with players able to spend the currency to dramatically increase their stats. Using the VC that came with my copy of the game, I was able to boost my custom wrestler’s stats from a 76 overall rating to a 90 overall rating with still plenty left over. When one considers that one of the key components of The Island is an online ranking system, it casts a gross pay-to-win shadow over the whole thing.
It’s a shame because The Island can actually be quite entertaining otherwise. While I was unable to test the PvP portion, I had a lot of fun completing The Island’s quests and checking out its special themed rings and arenas. And even with my lowly 76-rated superstar, I was still able to comfortably win the single-player matches and enjoy The Island’s stories, so players can still have fun without buying any VC.
WWE 2K25 In-Ring Action is Phenomenal
Those that have no interest in The Island and its microtransactions can completely ignore the game mode and still get their money’s worth and then some from WWE 2K25. That’s because the wide selection of game modes are all supported by some of the best in-ring wrestling in gaming history, with WWE 2K25 successfully building off the previous WWE 2K games to deliver an incredibly polished and action-packed experience. WWE 2K‘s in-ring product has been phenomenal for years, with WWE 2K25 somehow finding a way to make things even better.
WWE 2K25 brings back chain wrestling, which triggers intense mini-games where players compete to find the “sweet spot” using the left stick to gain an advantage over their opponents. It also gives players more options when battling outside the ring, with wrestlers now able to climb on the barricades and jump off for an extra diving attack. All of this action is brought to life with highly realistic character models that bleed, bruise, and sweat in response to the action in the ring.
WWE 2K25 also marks the return of Intergender Matches, and backstage brawls have been expanded to include exciting new areas. My favorite new place to fight is the WWE Archives, which is a warehouse full of classic WWE memorabilia, with the beloved SmackDown Fist even making an appearance. Players also have Bloodline Rules and Underground Matches to compete in this year, ensuring that there are near-endless options for single-player and multiplayer mayhem.
WWE 2K25 is the best WWE 2K game since the franchise made its return with WWE 2K22. The in-ring action is top-notch, MyGM is more fun than ever, and there is enough content here to keep WWE diehards busy for months on end. And that’s not even taking into account the inevitable community creations that will supply players with an endless supply of new characters and content. The community creations will no doubt make WWE 2K25 an even stronger game, but even without them, it’s a blast to play and has quickly become one of my favorite wrestling games ever.
