WWE 2K21 Reportedly Canceled, New WWE Game Still Coming This Year

Published: April 14, 2020 9:00 AM /

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WWE 2K21 would have been part of the overarching WWE 2K franchise

Remember last year's WWE 2K20? Of course you do. It was the game that spawned a thousand memes. From launching in a buggy, broken state to featuring bizarre Y2K-style glitchesWWE 2K20 was the poster child for how not to launch a game. It seems that botched launch may have had a knock-on effect, as according to a prominent WWE YouTuber, WWE 2K21 has been canceled.

The news comes courtesy of Twitter userYouTuber, and former WWE game writer Justin Leeper. In a video discussing the upcoming WWE 2K21, Leeper says he's heard from "reliable sources" that the game has been canceled. According to Leeper, back in December, cancellation of WWE 2K21 "was a 50-50 chance", but he then heard in January it was "medium speed ahead" and that the game would be very similar to WWE 2K20. Given the frosty critical reception for WWE 2K20, it wouldn't be surprising if that similarity figured heavily into 2K's decision to cancel the game.

Don't be too quick to mourn, though. Leeper says in his video that despite WWE 2K21's cancellation, a new WWE video game is on the way. Supposedly, this game won't be a sim-style game like the mainline 2K series, and it won't be developed by Visual Concepts. Leeper says he "could say more" about the project but that he doesn't want to anger 2K marketing folks.

When WWE 2K22 does come along, says Leeper, it won't be a next-gen project. Instead, it'll appear on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and likely on PC as well. Leeper makes no mention of the Switch. We're not even certain if WWE 2K22 is in development, who the developer is on the project, or what it will look like, although the most likely answer is Visual Concepts refining the WWE 2K experience. All we know for now - if Leeper is to be trusted - is that WWE 2K21 is no more and that a new type of WWE game is in development at a new studio. We'll bring you more on this as we get it.

What would you like the new WWE game to look like? Are you disappointed that WWE 2K21 has been canceled? Let us know in the comments below!

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Joe has been writing for TechRaptor for five years, and in those five years has learned a lot about the gaming industry and its foibles. He’s originally an… More about Joseph