WWE 2K22 will be here before you know it and will bring the curtain down on more than two years without an entry in the WWE 2K series. No, I'm not going to count WWE 2K Battlegrounds, and neither should you. The studio went on hiatus following the launch of 2K20, canceling development of 2K21 and stepping back to reflect on why its last game was so bad. The glitches, the bugs, the copy and paste mentality. Churning out a new game every 12 months had caught up with those creating these games, and the best thing for them and the series they're responsible for was a break.
The strongest evidence so far that 2K22 will be the breath of fresh air the series needs is the return of GM Mode, or MyGM as 2K has dubbed it. Wrestling fans have been begging for GM Mode to be brought back ever since it was removed during the SmackDown vs. Raw era. The mode allowed players to assume the role of a GM. You would draft a roster, book matches and shows, and attempt to beat your rival GM and show in a ratings war.
2K gave us a detailed look at what MyGM will look like for the first time recently, and if what it has shown off is anything to go by, it might be even better than the GM Mode that has been left in the past for too long. You will kick things off by choosing between five different GMs. Adam Pearce, Sonya Deville, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon, or someone you create yourself. You'll then be given a budget to draft your roster, but spend it wisely. That money will also be needed for other things once the shows begin. Blow it all during the draft and you'll face other problems very early on.
You'll also need to keep an eye on Superstars' attributes, making sure your roster is balanced. A roster made up entirely of heels might sound fun, but booking a whole show with nothing but baddies at your disposal will be a logistical nightmare. You'll have tasks to complete, issues to resolve for wrestlers on your show, and every now and again Triple H will stop by with a task to complete just to keep you on your toes. You can even wrestle in the matches yourself, interfere in them as your GM, or just sim them and let your show play out as the wrestling gods intended, and no I don't mean Vince McMahon and Tony Khan.
While nothing will come close to the in-depth experience Football Manager offers, what I've heard about MyGM so far sounds like it might be the closest thing a WWE product has ever come. As someone who has spent more hours playing FM and watching wrestling, sometimes simultaneously, than I care to admit, the revived mode sounds like the sort of thing that is going to take me away from other games I should be playing for a prolonged period of time. So much so that MyGM might end up being the only part of 2K22 I truly experience. I hope that's not the case as Rey Mysterio's 2K Showcase looks well worth everybody's time.
While I'm obviously very excited for what MyGM appears to be, I am trying to temper my expectations a little. I remember being this excited when first introduced to Universe Mode. That didn't turn out to be the immersive experience I thought it would be, and it also didn't evolve nearly enough with each passing game. It's a little odd that 2K would still include it in its next game with such an onus on MyGM. Perhaps there are more fans of it the long-standing, little-altered mode than I thought.
The future of not just 2K's relationship with WWE, but wrestling games on the whole really does hinge on how much we the players like 2K22. If it's even close to being as bad, and often unplayable, as 2K20, WWE may look elsewhere for future installments. There's also the imminent arrival of AEW's first game to consider. If 2K22 is bad and AEW's game is good, video games could well be the first area of the wrestling business in which the fledgling promotion surpasses its much more established rival.
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