2K Games Reveal Updates Making Their Way to WWE 2k18

2k have revealed details about the upcoming WWE 2k18 and Gamespot have the skinny on what they entail. The headlines are that 8 man matches are now in, a ‘revamped graphics engine’ and changes to both career and universe modes. But let’s look at the details, because they say this every year.

Unfortunately, the developers weren’t able to share too many details about the game in its present state, but they did give us a rundown on the general features and upgrades coming up.

I mean, the game is a whole 3 months away, why would there be in-depth details?!

With the recent brand split and roster shuffling resulting in some majors changes to the different WWE divisions, such as RAW, Smackdown, NXT, and the 205 Live brands–many storylines and plans for the weekly shows went through some substantial updates. Because of this, the WWE Universe mode in 2K18–which is a simulation of the televised WWE schedule–has evolved out of the static storytelling of its predecessors. Moving away from the format of one pay-per-view every four weeks of live-shows from previous years, the general progression in 2K18’s changes to Universe mode intends to be much more fluid and organic, featuring a lot of surprises to match the current pace of WWE’s TV and PPV schedule.

I think they say that Universe will be more organic every year and it just is the same with a different skin. Will this be the year? I’m betting… No

Presentation was one of the key areas that the developers–a collaboration between Visual Concepts and Yuke’s–wanted to focus on. For starters, WWE 2K18 will feature an updated graphics engine, which the developers claim went through a substantial rewriting process over the last two years. It now features dithered rendering, new skin shaders, real time reflections, and physically based rendering–all of which will add greater elements of realism to the characters, while also giving a much stronger atmosphere to the many environments. From the technical demo we saw, which unfortunately featured the new lighting and post-processing effects paired with older character models from 2K17, the game does look noticeably improved over the last title.

3 months from release and they don’t have new character models for this new engine yet. That seems really promising.

Working with the NBA 2K team, which is known for its authentic commentary quality, WWE 2K18 brings in Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, and Corey Graves as the lead commentators. To give it a more organic feel, the three commentators were given extra time to work, and also had the chance to perform in the same room as their co-commentators to lend the recording process more of a natural feel.

Removing JBL and King is a bonus since they were phoned in, so this should mean Coles lines are re-recorded this time. Hopefully should be better.

Building from the last game, My Career returns and will feature a more serious story. As the last game was criticized for its somewhat sprawling nature, the next attempt at building your character’s career will be more concise and narrative-driven than its predecessor. The main reason for this different approach to the story is the inclusion of the brand new Road To Glory mode, one of the new forms of online content for the My Career campaign. While the developers were tight-lipped on mentioning just what this offers, they stated that My Career’s story is the lead up to Glory mode, which is the end-game of sorts for My Career.

As long as this means no more having to hold a belt for 365 days, I’m all for it.

In addition to Promo Engine 2.0–an upgraded and more accurate take on the wrestler’s trash-talking dialog system from 2K17–the fighters now go through a brand new progression system which yield unlockable upgrades and perks after matches. To encourage flexibility, the upcoming roster has been increased over the last year, and is set to be the largest in series history. Added to this, the developers working on a brand new character archetype system known as ‘fighting styles.’ Each wrestler in the roster is set up with a particular archetype, like high-flyer or giant, which reflects their physique, moveset, and physical prowess in the ring. This is not only to reflect the variety in the roster, but also to give players diving into Create-A-Wrestler more defined archetypes to attach themselves to.

The promo engine was total garbage last year, but the fighter styles sound promising.

One area the developers were aware was a bit too complicated was the core grappling and submissions system. To remedy this, key parts of the submission system have been reworked and overhauled entirely, making it easier to learn and use. In addition to an overhauled dragging system (the technique of using opponent’s’ momentum against them), a new carrying system has been introduced, which allows players to pick up their opponents, leading to a variety of different moves like power bombs, cradles, and environmental moves. Moreover, there’s also a new ‘position feeding’ mechanic, which allows players to ‘sell’ their position in the match, launching a move from a groggy or ground position. The developers claim that the grappling systems are more dynamic, leading to a greater level of possibilities compared to the comparatively static system from the previous game.

The carrying part sounds like Smackdown V Raw where they added in moving powerbombs and junk. Nothing like old features being sold as new again!

Moreover, there will be many different options to play around with, including mixed-gender wrestling and other options such as interactive items and win conditions, which can be added in the new create-a-match feature.

Speaking of old features as new… Create a match is finally back.

While it’s disconcerting to not have seen much of the game, considering the game is scheduled for release on October 17, they state more info is coming soon. With the reveal of Kurt Angle as the pre-order bonus last week, we’ve still much to learn about WWE 2K18, including our first actual look at the new visuals in action, but the features they have detailed are an interesting start, which will no doubt make the next game feel like a bigger step forward for the series.

Disconcerting is an understatement…

We’ll see how this plays out, but it sounds like another WWE 2k release to me!