Take-Two CEO: WWE 2K Franchise Could Be 'Double or Triple' Its Current Size

Take-Two's boss believes 2K's WWE video games have significant untapped potential, pointing to "ongoing opportunities to improve the quality of the game."

While the WWE 2K series is profitable, it's overshadowed by the massively successful NBA 2K franchise, also developed by Visual Concepts. The latest entry, WWE 2K26, received a 7/10 from IGN, with critics noting it "benefits most from having been built on a tremendous foundation – one that has barely had to change, but continues to in ways that are starting to hurt more than help." WWE 2K27 has already been confirmed, likely for a March 2027 release.

In its latest financial report, Take-Two revealed that WWE 2K26's recurrent consumer spending is up 20% year-over-year, with over 85 million matches played—a 7% increase from WWE 2K25. However, CEO Strauss Zelnick told IGN he believes the franchise could grow much further, emphasizing Visual Concepts' drive for improvement.

"We're very proud of the Metacritic score and how the title performed," Zelnick said. "We have great partners at TKO led by Nick Khan. Everything related to WWE continues to grow. The team over there is crushing it. I do think there are ongoing opportunities to improve the game's quality and give consumers more of what they want. Our team at Visual Concepts always wants to do better. We believe arrogance is the enemy of continued success. I think that title could be double or triple the size it is now, as long as we delight consumers and give them something new and unexpected that's consistent with the brand they love."

The challenge lies in how Visual Concepts will evolve the game to reach that level. Monetization has been a sore spot for players, especially after 2K altered the Ringside Pass system in WWE 2K26 following widespread backlash.

When the new battle pass system was announced, players criticized it for replacing the traditional six DLC packs. The main issue was that unlocking roster members required dozens of hours of play across 40 tiers, instead of instant unlocks from DLC packs. Even paying for premium tiers meant fans had to invest more time than expected to get the wrestlers they'd purchased.

Starting from Season 2, all four characters in the Premium track are unlocked immediately at Tier 1. Additionally, the XP needed per tier was reduced from 800 to 625, with 2K promising not to increase it again. Each Ringside Pass costs $9.99/£8.99 per season, with an annual pass for $49.99/£44.99.

All eyes are now on WWE 2K27 to see what improvements Visual Concepts will implement to expand the game's audience.