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Overnight, 2K Sports has released a bunch of new information about the upcoming WWE 2K26, all the while revealing CM Punk as the cover athlete for the standard edition, which is set for release for PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on March 13.
With this release being the first “next-gen” release to leave the old generation behind, it comes with a host of new modes, features, and the series’ largest roster to date.
WWE 2K26 pulls in superstars from its Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands, along with countless legends, to create a roster of over 400 playable stars, including much-beloved Scottish sensation Joe Hendry, who’s available as a pre-order bonus.
This year’s Showcase expectedly will cover the career of CM Punk, who has enjoyed two separate runs with the company. As is often the case, the mode, which is called Punked, will cover the storied highlights of Punk’s career, while playing the fantasy booker to a degree, showing a “what if?” scenario had Punk not left.
With one of the game’s four editions paying focus to the Attitude Era, the game’s four new modes speak to this bygone extreme era. Players will be able to make use of new weapons, including thumbtacks and stackable tables, within match types such as I Quit, Inferno, Three Stages of Hell, and Dumpster.
In what is perhaps the most surprising change, WWE 2K26 will be opting for a battle pass model to deliver its additional content, abandoning the previous, sporadically released DLC packs that brought new superstars to the game. Of course, there’ll be free and premium tiers that offer different rewards; however, XP towards the pass can be earned across all of the game’s modes.
The Nintendo Switch 2 version of WWE 2K26 will offer exclusive features that make use of the hardware’s touchscreen and mouse support, GameShare and GameChat, support for single Joy-Con gameplay, and the ability to use mouse controls in the game’s creation suites.
For a full rundown on all of the game’s other new features and changes, 2K’s press release is full of great information.
