WWE 2K25: The latest release in the WWE universe

The WWE Universe is back in full effect with WWE 2K25‘s release on Mar. 14 and WrestleMania 41 right around the corner.

“[WrestleMania is]…a popular thing with fans. It would be a good idea to release the game when fans are excited about the subject matter,” said OH and OE’s co-op Esports coach Amy Whitlock.

WrestleMania is the WWE’s biggest event of the year and since 2022, 2K has made the game available closer to WrestleMania’s opening night.

“[I]n the past, I’ve played Smackdown vs. Raw, WWE ‘13, 2K22, 2K19, 2K20, and 2K24,” said OH senior and former OH wrestler Yael Vasquez.

The game that WWE fans around the world will dive into offers new features while also bringing back some of the nostalgia from past games.

“They did promote this thing called The Island…It’s like a free roam [game] with different modes to customize your character,” said Vasquez.

The concept of a free-roam island has been popular in the past few years on NBA 2K games and now 2K will bring it to the WWE Universe.

“It’s more about fighting and competing with people who want to win,” said OH junior Giovanni Trujillo.

Even though most of the action happens inside the ring, some of the most iconic moments in WWE history happened backstage. These fights are called backstage brawls, which is another feature returning to WWE 2K25 with new environments to explore outside of the ring.

“I feel like an interesting one would be… an office or the locker room… something we haven’t seen before. One thing I have seen before is you could interact with some of the objects backstage. I think that’s cool. I think they should keep that,” said Vasquez.

This game resonates with fans and developers are still working to find ways to make the game unique and create excitement around the WWE.

“As a fan, playing… the custom characters where you can play as someone [WWE 2K25] might not have out there [in the game] but download someone you might want to see,” said Vasquez.

In 2021, the WWE 2K game series took a year off after its previous game, WWE 2K20, failed to impress and hurt the franchise in terms of sales.

“So yeah, 2020 was obviously… very bad in general, but the game WWE 2K20 was infamously bad, and then in 2021 they came out with… a spin-off game. Then in 2022, you could definitely see that it was. It was a big improvement… They kind of revamped and they’re back up,” said Vasquez.

According to IGN, the game has been officially rated an 8/10 along with some great reviews from players and critics.

The game is packed with all the best WWE superstars from current and historic rosters.

“My top three? One of them is Ultimate Warrior. Some of the finishers may be boring so if I want a good finisher I go with Seth Rollins. He has a good skill set,” said Vasquez.

The two guys who have dominated in the WWE in recent years are Roman Reigns and Cody Rhoades, the reigning WWE Champion.

“Another good one would be Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes. They’re highly rated and it’s an easy win. They have a good move-set and good finishers,” said Vasquez.

They are the highest-rated wrestlers in this year’s game on the current roster at 96, tying with Rhea Ripley from the current women’s roster.

“[One of my favorites is] John Cena… because he’s stronger and can do things that other wrestlers can’t do,” said Trujillo.

The People’s Champ is the highest-rated player in the game with a perfect 100, it is an invisible version of the WWE legend as a play on his signature catchphrase “You Can’t See Me.”

Cena is entering his last year with the WWE after entertaining millions around the world while building his brand and being successful as a Hollywood actor.

“It feels unreal because he’s been wrestling for so long and he’s been the face of the company for this century… back then it was Hulk Hogan, [and] now it’s John Cena,” said Vasquez

From this generation to the next, there is a bright future for more quality games to come for WWE.