WWE 2K21 won't happen this year

(Image credit: 2K Games)

2K Games has released a WWE game every year since 2011, but that consistent streak is coming to an end. WWE CFO Frank Riddick announced as much today during an investors call, stating that no videogame based on the brand will release in 2020.

Riddick didn't provide any explicit reason for this, though the disastrous WWE 2K20 probably didn't do the series any favours. The game was notoriously broken at launch, with incredible and traumatising results.

That WWE 2K21 won't happen has been rumoured for a while. Former writer on the series, Justin Leeper, said in a video earlier this month that he was confident the game had been cancelled. Interestingly, Leeper also said that a different style of WWE game may be published by 2K in 2020—a "palate cleanser"—though Riddick's statement seems to rule out that possibility.

According to Leeper in the same video, WWE 2K22 hasn't been cancelled, and there's every possibility that WWE 2K20 devs Visual Concepts just needs more time to learn the ropes of developing wrestling games, as last year's game demonstrates.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.