Over the last five years, the wrestling landscape has changed drastically. Gone are the days when liking wrestling was ridiculed and mocked; instead, wrestling has become a hot ticket item similar to how it was in the late 90s and early 2000s. So what changed in the last five years? During the last five years, three major things have happened: 1. a new competitor, AEW, joined the market, forcing WWE to adapt and improve. 2. Vince McMahon was forced to retire and ultimately sold the company. 3. WWE 2K20 was a complete disaster. All three of these factors would lead to the improvement of WWE and the potential success of WWE 2K25.
WWE 2K25
Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: 2K
Platforms: PC (Steam), PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
Release Date: March 14th, 2025
Players: 1 to 8
Price: $69.99
So what is available in WWE 2K25? On the home screen of the game, players can find the “Play”, MyRise, Showcase, The Island, MyFaction, Universe, and MyGM game modes.
Scroll over a tab and you will be able to create Superstars, Entrances, Championships, Move-Sets, Victory Animations, MITB, Arenas, Shows, Videos, Custom Images, Matches, and Signs.
This marks the return of sign creation and the debut of custom victory animations, videos, and the MITB. The game has over 300 wrestlers to play as with multiple variations available to unlock between the showcase and other game modes.
When it comes to WWE games, they are rather similar to Madden, NBA, and NHL, focusing more on “Roster” updates with minimal improvements to the game’s mechanics and selling you cosmetic upgrades.
In fact, WWE 2K25 has a plethora of microtransaction options to make your character look better, improve your faction, or increase your created character’s stats. Like other service games, WWE 2K25 uses Virtual Currency for players to buy cards, clothing, or stat boosts.
Yes, these coins can be earned over time but doing so requires a good bit of grinding in order to accomplish that. If you purchased the WWE 2K25 The Bloodline Edition, you will get 115,00 Virtual Credits in your game; that is the equivalent of buying $35 of Virtual credits; yes, this will save you time, but doesn’t make up for the $60 difference.
The Virtual Credits mainly apply to either MyFaction or The Island game modes. With My Faction, you will collect Superstar Cards to unlock different wrestlers with different stats to face off against other players or complete different challenges.
Each card has a different rarity and the wrestler can only be used a certain amount of time before the card is retired. Players can buy packs using the VC but they can also be earned by completing challenges and towers.
With the Island, Virtual Credits are used to either buy cosmetics or improve the player’s stats. If you are looking to unlock all the clothing you can spend the credits on that, but your character will be rather weak. On the Island, you can either compete in matches against other players or play through the Island’s narrative story.
One of the most annoying aspects of the Island is the amount of people that it loads in; this can make talking to some of the NPCs rather difficult. Additionally, there are parts of the story where you will have to face off against human players.
The game will not load your control settings, so you will be playing at a slight disadvantage. Overall, The Island is a neat concept on how to change multiplayer lobbies, but it could use some fine-tuning to make it not so cluttered.
WWE 2K25 has introduced multiple new match types and updated some from WWE 2K24. The Backstage Brawl features new environments such as the WWE Archives and the NXT Parking Lot; in addition to the increased space and new areas, the mode can now support up to 8 superstars in the match.
The Special Guest Referee mode has been updated as well to be available in thirty different match types vs the 1-on-1 matches in WWE 2K24. Intergender Matches have also returned after being gone for 16 years – these were last featured in WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2009. So, if you want to play as Rhea Ripley and Powerslam Dirty Dominik Mysterio through a table multiple times, you can.
Finally, there is the inclusion of the Underground match and the “Bloodline Rules” match. Although the Underground Match gimmick was short-lived in WWE, players can bring back the match and come up with fun and creative ways to make it work.
In the Underground Match, there are no ropes around the ring and Superstars surround it (IE: Lumberjack Match). The match can only be won by submission or KO similar to a UFC match.
The “Bloodlines Rules” match is a no-DQ match where up to three superstars can interfere with the match through Run-Ins triggered by the Payback ability. This match type is close to how the “Bloodlines Rules” match has turned out in WWE but with different rules.
With WWE 2K25 MyRise, there are no longer two different storylines. Instead, the story was created to have multigender options and outcomes. If you play MyGM mode before you play MYRise, you will be slightly spoiled on the storyline for MYRise and the introduction of NXT Mutiny.
Right now, we are slowly playing through the MYRise and will revisit the review once we have completed the story; however, as it is now, it is more interesting than the Women’s storyline in WWE 2K24. If you purchased the Bloodlines Edition of WWE 2K25, you will get a MyRise skill booster that makes it easier to level your characters.
With MYGM mode, there are a ton of updates to improve the overall experience. For the first time, MyGM mode can now be played online against other players. Additionally, there are new rules that can change the experience of MyGm mode such as a timer for turns, penalties, and draft order options.
This year’s MyGm mode now features 18 different general manager (GM) options and features six different brands. Each brand and GM have different abilities so you can mix and match to get a competitive advantage. Each week, you will need to book a show and complete different mission objectives that HHH has requested.
As the season progresses, different Superstars will come to you with different requests; fulfilling these requests will increase their morale and potentially their popularity. These features have made MyGM more enjoyable to play.
Finally, the WWE 2K Showcase revolves around the Bloodline and their lineage. Rather than focusing specifically on just the wins that the Bloodline has accomplished, the Showcase has players create alternate outcomes of matches where the Bloodline has lost.
At the end of the showcase, players will compete in dream matches and ensure that the Bloodline wins. As you complete the WWE 2K25 showcase, you will unlock new superstars, cosmetics, managers, and more. The showcase is interesting and gives players a deeper understanding of the Bloodlines’ connection to WWE and the wrestling business.
WWE 2K25 also features some new mechanics to enhance the player’s experience. For those who do not like the button-mashing minigames for submissions, a new overpower minigame has been introduced; this minigame is a creative way to do submissions.
However, if you have damaged joysticks, this can make the minigame difficult. If playing online, the game will sometimes default you to the stick minigames to get out even if you have the button press ones on.
The game also introduced the Chain Wrestling mechanic where players will take turns hitting one another or executing moves; these chains rely on you having precision when to release a button in a targeted area.
New to WWE 2K25 is a third-person camera mode. With this 3rd person camera mode, you are able to have better control of the game’s camera during entrances and matches.
When using the third-person camera mode, some of the game’s controls will be altered, so you will need to be aware of the different settings. Additionally, the game now features the ability to jump off barricades and destroy barricades and cornerposts.
A Giant class has been added to the superstar creation giving more flushed-out character classes. The ladder match mini-game has also been changed to focus more on button inputs rather than a cat-and-mouse entry mini-game.
WWE 2K25 has improved on the previous year’s success, however, the dependency on Virtual Coins (Pay to Win) can be offputting to most casual wrestling gamers.
WWE 2K25 does feature some interesting bugs with superstars phasing through the ropes and corners but so far none have been game-breaking. Both the Showcase and MyRise Story are more interesting than the prior years but they could be even better.
Hopefully, next year’s showcase will revolve around a brand and cover some of its legendary moments. WWE 2K25 is enjoyable for hardcore fans, but might not be what casual gamers are looking for. Yes, the game is fun once you get the hang of it, but there is a bit of a learning curve when learning the controls and the game’s mechanics.
If you are considering picking this up just to experience it, it is better to wait until it goes on sale or joins one of the gaming services (PS+ or Xbox Gamepass). If you are a wrestling fan who likes to play these types of games, then picking up WWE 2K25 is a must.
The game feels a lot smoother when compared to prior years and between the roster size and the game modes updates, you are in for hours of enjoyable playtime. The Island is only available on PlayStation and Xbox, however, it is not something that is necessary to experience, it’s just a fun alternative option.
WWE 2K25 was reviewed on an Xbox Series X using a code provided by 2K. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. WWE 2K25 is now available on PC (Steam) PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
