Every year since WWE 2K22, it’s felt like I write variations of the same opening paragraph, that ultimately end with one simple question: How does an annual sports game top what they did the year before? That question becomes slightly more complicated, though, when some (including myself) consider last year’s entry to be the best it’s ever been. WWE 2K26’s answer is simple: you add more. Lots more.
This year, everything is expanded and built upon, and though no one thing feels like a particularly massive swing, every mode comes with incremental additions to make it worth your while. In fact, there was so much that not only does it feel like it’s impossible to summarise concisely, but there wasn’t close to enough time for me to sample everything in my few hours of hands-on time. So if you’re interested in all the new updates to universe mode, community creations, MyFaction or The Island, then I’d suggest this isn’t the preview for you. However, what I will do is focus on the central element that ties it all together and the iterations that interest me the most: the gameplay.
Small adjustments can be felt from the moment the bell rings. Last year’s addition of chain wrestling has been expanded, allowing you to create moments tailored to each wrestler’s sensibilities. With a quick press on the d-pad, you can now select to deploy unique motions, such as a handshake, a rush, or even drawing energy from the crowd. There’s also a more ambiguous ‘approach’ option, which in turn creates a sub-menu that allows you to begin trading blows, engage in chain wrestling, or just have an intense staredown. What may appear to be gimmicky actually works surprisingly well, providing more cinematic actions to appropriately begin anything from a friendly rivalry to a blood feud. Previously, my default was always just to run and attack, but these starting actions now add an extra sprinkle to the already-impressive spectacle simulation. It’s not going to change the way you play, but it successfully adds an extra layer of welcome immersion to each match opening.
Once the match progresses, things feel very familiar. Match fundamentals work very similarly to WWE 2K25, aside from some subtle alterations to the reversal system (which is now more tied to the stamina wheels) and barricade combat, which now lets you both climb up and duke it out during a balancing act. Most notably for me, though, is the update to the collision mechanics, something that feels like it’s been neglected for a while now. Previously, discarded weapons lying around the ring served little purpose once they’d left your hands, often blending into the environment as decoration with no further impact on gameplay, But gone are the days of characters clipping through them completely, as in WWE 2K26, dropping a superstar onto steel steps, kendo sticks, or steel chairs matters, with what I assume is a damage level increase and new, realistic reaction animations. Whip Sami Zayn into a cinder block, and it breaks under his weight. Riptide Bron Breakker onto the steel steps, and his body will crumple around its shape. Discarded weapons now have added value and contribute another step forward towards matching the WWE television experience.
The standout of these interactive weapons, though, and my personal highlight of WWE 2K26 is actually a brand new addition for the series – something that feels like it should have been around forever, but finally makes its debut this year. Thumbtacks. Lift up the ring apron, and your weapon wheel will now have a bag of violence ready to deploy. Simply pour the dozens of metal pins onto the mat, and you’re ready to turn your opponent into a human pin cushion. Tacks aren’t just reserved for finishing moves either. Any slam in the proximity of these nasty spikes will decorate their back, knees, and forehead in silver, helping you finally recreate gloriously violent WWE moments like Cactus Jack’s face-first descent into a pile of the violent objects by a sinister Triple H.
Thumbtacks, better collision reactions and starting actions, although fun, are all in service of matching the WWE product, as are micro adjustments like the new blood splatter effect that splashes the screen when you or your opponent gets busted wide open. This is ultimately a fighting game, but one that knows which side its bread is buttered. Drama and storytelling are the name of the game, and this year also receives a vital upgrade in its voices, with the additions of Booker T and Wade Barrett to the commentary table. The latter not only offers a different accent to the soundtrack of your actions, but both bring a new sense of excitement that is hard to quantify, but vital to keeping the series sounding fresh.
From playing, it quickly became clear to me that this year, the moment-to-moment match action has received small but welcome improvements to the already successful formula. But just like in real life, a WWE fan’s appetite for chaos is only satiated with new match types and WWE 2K26, much like last year, lobs four more onto the pile: Three Stages of Hell, I Quit, Dumpster and Inferno matches.
The Inferno match, which surrounds the ring in a wall of flames, is undoubtedly the most visually impressive addition. Much like its sporadic appearances on WWE over the years, it’s certainly a spectacle and a worthwhile inclusion, although, like last year’s Underground addtion, it’s hard for me to invest too much time into a match type that limits your ability to use every inch of the ring, as it always feels less enjoyable to me to conclude a fight in anything but a pinfall or submission. Because of this, I didn’t spend much time in this fiery new mode, but its addition is a welcome one, even if it’s only from a WWE historical perspective.
The dumpster match also helps fill the gap in WWE’s legacy. In practice, it’s a reskinned version of the casket and ambulance brawls, but it’s hard to see what they could have done differently from a gameplay perspective. It’s also nice for 2K to tick off another match type as developer Visual Concepts slowly but surely works its way through all the crazy concepts we’ve seen throughout WWE’s history, regardless of their real-world success. Although saying that, I would be surprised if we see a Punjabi Prison or Kennel From Hell match anytime soon. Feel free to shock me, though, WWE 2K27.
When it comes to fresh match types, the most exciting addition for me, though, is the long-overdue return of the I Quit match. Notably different from the ever-present submission bout, which just limits the decision to a legal tap, rather than the all-out warfare and humiliation the I Quit match can deliver. Proceedings begin like any other hardcore match, but instead of pinfalls or traditional submissions, the fight will now only end when you or your opponents verbally say “I quit” into the microphone, with the referee also audibly making requests.
How this works in practice is a quick-time event that demands you master timing on a spinning wheel full of green blocks, which will shrink over time based on the damage you take. Interestingly, unlike some of the other mini games in the series, the aggressor isn’t directly competing for these green blocks; instead, you can place pre-earner blockers to make the timing more difficult. There’s a deliberate strategy to this, and I immediately found myself considering my submission requests more thoughtfully, making sure I had enough banked blockers (earned by performing certain big attacks) before commencing the humiliation routine. You can also increase your chances by using weapons like the kendo stick or steel chair in the submission manoeuvre, once again harking back to classic WWE moments. The I Quit match doesn’t feel like just another match variation on the pile, but rather its own beast entirely.
All of this year’s adjustments serve the wider presentation of WWE 2K26, and that ever-moving, monolithic WWE dragon they’re always chasing. Make no mistake about it, while the grappling has always and will always be the core of this series, the spectacle of WWE is just as important a part of the package. In my lifetime, we’ve gone from WWF Warzone’s soulless arenas (I can still hear that single voice in the crowd repeatably telling me to open a can) to 1-to-1 representations of pyro-infused, singalong entrances and accurate depictions of the ebbs and flows of a rabid live crowd. I have little doubt that WWE 2K26 is set to be the best the series has ever looked, sounded, and felt, and if you’re a WWE obsessive eager to replicate the pageantry at home, then you’ve never had it better.
Dale Driver is an Associate Director of Video Programming at IGN. Be thoroughly bored by following him on Bluesky at @daledriver.bsky.social
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