WWE 2K24 received generally favorable reviews upon release, with critics considering it to largely consist of incremental improvements and refinements over its predecessor.
Like its predecessor, WWE 2K24 features arcade and simulation wrestling gameplay. Several gimmick matches have returned to the franchise, such as ambulance, casket, gauntlet, and special guest referee matches. The "Backstage Brawl" mode was updated with a larger variety of weapons and four-player multiplayer.[1][2][3] New combat features include "Super Finishers"—which allows players to use all three of their finisher charges at once to perform a higher-powered move, the ability to dive onto groups of opponents, and new types of objects as weapons such as microphones and trash cans.[3][1][2]
MyGM mode is similar to 2K23, but adds additional features such as the ability to purchase permanent upgrades to production, scout for talent, and conduct trade offers between brands following events. It also features four new managers (Paul Heyman, Ted DiBiase, Teddy Long and William Regal) and a new brand, ECW. MyUniverse was similarly updated with additional features, including more types of run-ins, and support for double title and loser leaves town matches.[1][3] The in-game tutorial is revamped with various lessons focusing on different mechanics in the game, featuring various superstars that are training here at the WWE Performance Center, all culiminating with a practice session between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns, with an option to pin Reigns to end the session. It also featured an introduction video to the revamped tutorial from Cathy Kelley and Coach Drew Gulak. MyRise mode on 2K24 features two campaigns, the men's division campaign "Undisputed", and the women's division campaign "Unleashed". Undisputed follows "The Dark Horse", a newly crowned Undisputed champion who attempts to escape the shadow of Roman Reigns. Unleashed follows "The Captain", a wrestler from the independent circuit who was recently signed to WWE.[5][2]
Development
In May 2023, during an annual quarterly earnings call held by 2K's holding company Take-Two Interactive, WWE 2K24 was announced as an upcoming title set to be released in March 2024 fiscal year.[6]
The game was officially announced on January 22, 2024, for a release on March 8 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Cody Rhodes was announced as the cover star of the standard edition, while The Judgment Day's Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair were announced as the cover stars of the deluxe edition. A "40 Years of WrestleMania" Edition was also announced, with its cover featuring a collage of current and past WWE performers.[7][4]
Release
The game was released on March 8, 2024. In the United States, all copies of the game include a one-month trial of Peacock. Pre-order bonuses included a digital copy of WWE 2K23, and a Nightmare Family pack with four characters (Stardust, "Undashing" Cody Rhodes, Dusty Rhodes, and Billy Graham) and three gold MyFaction cards (including "Bruised" Cody Rhodes as a Mattel WWE Elite Series action figure, and Rhodes' dog Pharaoh as a manager). The Deluxe edition added early access beginning March 5, the season pass, and perks such as the ability to immediately unlock the entirety of the game's roster, a "Mega-Boost" for custom wrestlers in MyRise mode, and alternate outfits for Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley.[7][4]
The 40 Years of WrestleMania Edition is a superset of the deluxe edition that also includes the WrestleMania XL arena, unlocks the entire roster in 2K Showcase mode, and also adds alternate outfits and MyFaction cards for Charlotte Flair, Randy Savage, Rey Mysterio, Rhea Ripley, and Triple H based on their most notable WrestleMania appearances.[7][4]
The Bray Wyatt Edition was released on October 16, 2024. It included all of the content from the 40 Years of Wrestlemania Edition contents, as well as Wyatt's "Eater of Worlds" persona as a Mattel WWE Elite Series action figure, a new version of Wyatt's "The Fiend" persona, an updated version of Bo Dallas' "Uncle Howdy" persona, Wyatt's "The Fiend" Universal Championship belt, the Firefly Funhouse manager card for MyFaction and 67,500 VC. A similar bundle, which included the base game and the Bray Wyatt pack, was released the same day.
WWE 2K24 holds "generally favorable" reviews according to Metacritic, with its different platform versions having weighted average scores around 80/100 on critic reviews.[16]
Mark Delaney of GameSpot noted that WWE 2K24 made "appreciable, albeit not revolutionary, improvements to last year's solid foundation across the board", including more "fluid" chaining of moves and Super Finishers, albeit noting that hair physics were still "janky", and the animations associated with top rope moves were still prone to "warping" that "betray the otherwise commendable level of realism" in the game's presentation. He also noted incremental improvements to MyGM and MyUniverse modes, and the WrestleMania showcase to be akin to a "playable WrestleMania documentary" that blends archive footage with in-engine gameplay, but felt that it needed more interviews to help "contextualize" the matches.[2]
IGN similarly noted that "you'll need to sift through 2K24 with a fine-toothed comb to find significant differences between this and last year's edition", observing that the majority of the roster (besides Bayley) were visually accurate to their real-life appearances and had fewer "outdated" gimmicks, new combat options such as Super Finishers and small objects such as microphones as weapons, and AI improvements. The return of gimmick matches such as gauntlet, ambulance, casket, and special guest referee matches were also noted. The Showcase mode was panned for being "full of fights that are simply not as special as they are presented to be", abrupt mixing of live-action archive footage, and exclusion of certain matches. In conclusion, it was felt that "there are enough new little features added to every inch of this iteration that make it well worth climbing back into the ring. Old enemies still have their number, though, such as making its docuseries Showcase mode feel good to actually play, creating a more consistent tone and pacing in MyRise, and getting more of the current day roster up to the high visual bar that’s currently only hit by its most popular superstars."[1]
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