WWE 2K24 has been on the market for a couple of months now and developer Visual Concepts is expanding the experience with the game’s first DLC pack. CM Punk made his surprise return to WWE this past November at Survivor Series, and in years past, fans would likely have had to wait over a year to see him in a WWE game, as the deadline for setting the roster for the next game would have passed. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case, as Visual Concepts got to work and managed to get him into the ECW Punk Pack, which also includes Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley, Sandman, and Terry Funk.
I had the opportunity to have a quick chat with longtime WWE 2K producer Lynell Jinks about getting CM Punk back in a WWE 2K game after near decade-long absence, what kind of Punk content we might get in the future, and more.
I assume you were just as surprised as the rest of us when CM Punk returned at Survivor Series. How quickly were you in the studio making plans to get him in the game?
Lynell Jinks: We’ll get, like, maybe like a slight heads up sometimes. Sometimes, not all the time. But [with CM Punk returning] we we’re, like, “Oh, man, [we’re considering] all of the logistics for, like… how long is this run gonna last? Do we have the video game rights? When can we get them scanned? When can we go into mocap?” But around that time, the game’s wrapping up. We’re already heading into submission with Microsoft and Sony. So it’s pretty much a nonstarter for on disk. But for DLC? That was our first thought. You know, let’s get [CM Punk] into the DLC for one and figure out who to surround him with. That’s kind of how the [ECW Punk Pack] came about. It’s just, you know, who can we surround CM Punk with that makes total sense. And I think we, if you look at our list, did a pretty good job.
Some of the ECW guys are a good fit. Punk has a bit of a modern-day Terry Funk feel to him these days. I’m not so sure about the Sandman though – he wasn’t exactly straight edge!
LJ: When you look at Sandman, when you when you look at our current feature set, when you think about our weapons and our improvements to blood, and blood on the mat, it kind of makes sense from that standpoint, right? Like someone who is kind of synonymous with those things. And you know, it also comes down to who we have. Who we actually have the video game rights to and who the WWE has a video game rights to. So you look at the list. You’re like, “Okay, cool. Yeah. This totally makes sense for our game and for the DLC pack.” So it’s a combination of things. But I think people are gonna be really happy with it.
It’s been over a decade since we last saw Punk in a WWE video game. What was the process for getting Punk in 2K24. How closely has the team been working with him?
LJ: We have a team that goes out and gets them scanned. I know [Punk’s] working with our marketing department to do some cool stuff to [promote] his inclusion of the game, because he’s extremely excited. And he’s been a great partner for us in in that regard.
When he left I think it was during 2K16. It was, “Ohhh no!” right? Yeah, that one hurt, and he hasn’t been back since. When he started doing the [WWE Backstage] talk show thing after Smackdown, we were, like, “Hey, is he free game?” and they were, “No, we still don’t have the video game rights.” So, it’s something we asked about all the time, ’cause he has a place in all of our hearts on the dev team.
You’ve shown off Punk’s new WWE 2K24 entrance, and it looks great, but it’s definitely 2024 Punk with that bit of white in the beard. Some of the superstars in 2K24 have some fun alternate looks, can we expect the same for Punk either this year or in the future?
LJ: You know, I think when you look at our MyFaction mode, that’s the perfect place where we could start including things like that. If not for WWE 2K24, then definitely for 2K25, or even a future Showcase or whatever. It definitely opens up the possibilities now that [Punk’s] back with the WWE. We always look at, what are some cool inclusions that we could have? Either a flashback scene in story mode, or something in MyFaction, the possibilities are endless. But it’s definitely something that the team keeps the keeps asking and pushing and trying to figure out, like, how can we cram these things in, because we’re super excited to have them in the game again.
I vote you get Straight Edge Society era Punk in there. That’s still a favorite.
LJ: Ahhh, yeah. You could even have a deep cut where he’s, like, one of the mobsters in Cena’s entourage. There’s just so many things that you could do.
That would be a deep cut…
LJ: [Laughs] Pipe Bomb version where he just he’s squatting the whole time like Yoda.
Now that would be a good entrance. You mention Showcase, so could we see a Punk Showcase in the future? I think we’re all ready for that.
LJ: Whenever someone comes back to the WWE, we start looking at “Oh man, what’s the theme for this year’s game?” We don’t know if it’s this year, next year, two years from now, five years from now, as long as they’re part of a Legends deal or part of the roster it opens the door for us to have different ideas and scenarios. So again, we’re all just excited to have those conversations.
Last question — Punk’s rocking the 90 rating while Drew McIntyre has an 89. What are the chances Drew drops that into a promo at some point?
LJ: [Laughs] I think there’s some legit heat that could be had from it if Punk wants to use that as a carrot and dangle in front of [him] and Drew can get mad. I could definitely see that. I’d love to see it. Any time they talk about our game we feel validated. Especially when they were doing like the ratings reveal during Smackdown and Raw, that’s just so cool to see how far we’ve come.
Good to talk to you as always!
The ECW Punk Pack is part of WWE 2K24’s Season Pass, which is included in the game’s $100 Deluxe Edition and $120 Forty Years of WrestleMania Edition, or can be purchased a la carte for $40. The Season Pass will include 5 DLC packs featuring over 25 new additions to the roster.
WWE 2K24 can be played on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5. The ECW Punk Pack can be downloaded as of today.
