There won’t be a WWE 2K21 after last year’s disastrous effort, but wrasslin’ fans are getting WWE 2K Battlegrounds from developer Saber Interactive. The game actually looks fairly fun, but does the move to more arcade-style action mean giving up depth? Not necessarily.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds won’t pack in as much stuff as the core WWE 2K games did, but it will actually offer a fairly decent array of modes and features, including a comic-book-style Campaign, a full character creator, various online modes, and a variety of match types including steel cage and Royal Rumble. But hey, you don’t take it from me – allow humble advocate Paul Heyman to sell you on the game’s features.
Here’s a more detailed description of WWE 2K Battlegrounds’ modes and match types:
Campaign Mode – Throw down in this single-player story mode told through a comic art style as you add to your stable of WWE Superstars to overcome the next challenge. Team up with Paul Heyman and Stone Cold Steve Austin as you travel the globe in search of new Superstars for an all-new WWE brand. Play as one of the seven newly created Superstars, such as Bolo Reynolds and Jessica Johnson, as you travel across several regions battling WWE Superstars, achieving campaign goals and unlocking various WWE Superstars, power-ups and items;
Exhibition Mode – Brawl with your friends or family, with up to four-player action online or on the couch in your favorite match types, including:
- One-on-One
- Tag Team
- Triple Threat
- Fatal Four Way
- Steel Cage Match
- Royal Rumble
King of The Battleground Mode – Battle to become the Last Man (or Woman) Standing as you and up to seven other online players burn it down and try to toss one another out of the ring! The longer you stay in the arena, the higher your score climbs. The second you send someone flying, another Superstar waiting outside the ring enters the fray;
Online Tournament Mode – Take the action online for rewards in a variety of time-limited tournaments featuring a wide range of win conditions. Keep an eye out… you never know when a new Battlegrounds tournament might be kicking off;
Battleground Challenge Mode – Brawl from the bottom all the way to the top! Create your own WWE Superstar and overcome all the odds stacked against you.
In addition to the modes detailed above, WWE 2K Battlegrounds will launch with over 70 superstars. The may sound fairly generous, but as we reported earlier, Battlegrounds includes microtransactions — players will be able to buy “Golden Bucks” with real money, which can be used to unlock cosmetics and wrestlers. It’s unknown whether you can earn Golden Bucks in-game or if certain Superstars need to be unlocked using the currency.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds rumbles onto PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Stadia on September 18.
