2K Commit to 'Transparency' To Fix WWE 2K's Reputation

2K Global Communications Manager Al Stavola says the company is aware of the poor opinion held by fans of the WWE 2K franchise, committing to transparency and honest dialogue as a method to repair it. 

WWE 2K20 was one of the most negatively received video games in history, prompting 2K to cancel plans for WWE 2K21 while they considered a revamp of the series. 2K will be bringing back the usually annual game, with WWE 2K22 announced over WrestleMania 37 weekend. 

Stavola has assured fans that the newest release will be 'completely different' to what they experienced in WWE 2K20 and is promising regular communication about the product. 

Speaking on the WWE 2K22 pre-brief, Stavola said. "We think transparency is really important. We certainly are cognisant of the reception of the franchise. We want to show that this is a completely different and new step in the right direction, so we’re going to be communicating early and often."

The game's new tagline, 'It Hits Different', goes beyond just applying to the game itself, according to the 2K Global Communications Manager. 

Stavola added: "We want that to be clear that it doesn’t just apply to the game itself. It applies to the way we market the game, the way we communicate the game with press, content creators, and our community.

"We want to try out a lot of new ideas; we want to bring everyone along for the journey. You’re going to be seeing things earlier than before. You’re going to be seeing kind of a deeper, more behind the scenes look at things than you have in the past."