Barely two weeks out from the release of WWE 2K26, we are getting quite excited to get our hands on it and see how the game has changed from last year’s edition. And one of the ways to do so is to look at the changes we would love to see when the game arrives. Wrestling is a sport with a diverse world of characters and events beloved by its fans, and nailing them is always the top challenge facing developers at 2K.
As one of the most iconic Pay Per View events of all time, the Royal Rumble holds a special place among wrestling fans. The event carries a level of spectacle that is hard to match at other events, where you can regularly see wrestlers with plenty of room to turn without bumping into two other wrestlers already engaged in heated combat. It’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see mayhem take place inside the squared circle.
Because it is such an important hub in the overall wrestling world, it’s an important consideration when making the top wrestling game each year. Today, we’re looking at 2K’s digital Rumble and wondering what the developers could include in 2K26 to make it a video game experience that feels as grandiose, dynamic, and thrilling as the real-world Pay Per View does in years where the tentpole show delivers.
How To Make Royal Rumble As Special As Possible In WWE 2K26
The Royal Rumble is among the most famous annual entertainment events on earth every year with fans around the world clamoring for action. Here’s what we think 2K could do to make it as special for gamers as it is in the real world:
Take The Lid Off
The appeal of the Royal Rumble is the opportunity to see the biggest stars in the promotion sharing the ring in previously unseen combinations, and the fun storytelling that can take place when you have so many wrestlers in the ring at the same time. Unfortunately, system limitations for wrestling games have often meant a cap of just eight wrestlers in the ring taking part at the same time.
With modern gaming consoles, this is no longer as necessary as gaming PCs, and modern consoles are more powerful than in the past. While seeing the ring flooded with double-digit wrestlers would run the risk of slowing down performance and frame rate, it would be a major boon to get the game running efficiently enough to really let the Rumble show its multi-wrestler madness magic.
Make The Pace Feel Real
Although the Rumble excels by offering things that other match types simply cannot, there are also built-in expectations fans have for moments of excitement, or even levity. A wrestler making an overwrought entrance only to be immediately bounced from the Rumble is a time-honored tradition.
When overused, however, this can lead to an unrealistic feel for your Rumble. It’s important for there to be a balance in the number of lightning-quick eliminations and room for the appropriate number of ironman performances by wrestlers who withstand extended beatings during a long run.
Let The Game Surprise Us
Sometimes, the biggest pop in the Royal Rumble comes from an unexpected arrival showing up to take part. Adding in an option for surprise entrants to arrive during the Rumble allows you to enter into a Rumble with that same uncertainty and enjoy that same surprise when a wrestler you didn’t expect shows up.
This can be particularly fun in modes with carried-over storylines. The game bringing out a wrestler who had been on the sidelines to make their surprise return at the Rumble would be a virtual representation of a real-world occurrence that always gets fans revved up and ready to go.
Make Entrances Matter
Even if you’ve never seen a single Royal Rumble in your life, you would by now likely be figuring out that the arrival of new wrestlers during it is a big deal. Every new wrestler is another chance for the audience to blow the roof off the building at a big surprise or a major heel or face making their arrival.
The Royal Rumble mode would benefit from amplifying the focus on the new arrivals as they enter. There’s a delicate balance to strike between moving away from the gameplay to focus on theatrics, but threading it right is essential to making the Royal Rumble feel as true-to-life as possible.
Fill Out The Special Elimination Options
The sheer number of wrestlers competing at once is not the only thing that makes a Royal Rumble unique, as there is also the special way that you eliminate opponents by sending them over the ropes and out of the ring. This unique approach to winning has also led to unique moments of creativity and even collaboration in eliminating opponents. Adding in larger group eliminations and more unique ways to tumble an opponent out of contention adds depth to the legendary match.
Some of the most iconic moments in Royal Rumble history have to do with the eliminations of huge wrestlers who required multiple opponents working together to force them over the rope. Options for more than two wrestlers to work together at once add new considerations and allow for mechanics like forcing some very large wrestlers to require teamwork to force out.
Add Elimination Cancelations
Speaking of iconic moments you can only get in the Royal Rumble, there is the elimination cancellation, which has been made iconic by Kofi Kingston, who has taken the “don’t let your feet touch the ground” rules to literal means and gained a reputation for crowd-pleasing escapes.
Fans love these moments, and they create an obvious opportunity for a game mechanic to live up to the real-world spectacle. While this would require balancing, implementation as a specific trait for some wrestlers and requiring you to spend a finisher not to take out an opponent, but to keep your own run going, as well.
Incorporate Storylines Into Wrestler Behavior
Not every way to improve the Rumble would apply in every mode, but there is excellent room to incorporate the Royal Rumble more thoroughly into storylines in modes like MyGM or Universe. With multiple wrestlers in the ring together, there is a lot of opportunity for teamwork, betrayals, and the other interpersonal intrigue that makes wrestling so popular with its fans.
Because these modes allow you to build and live within your own fictional universe, having more interaction that builds off existing storylines creates more engaging Rumbles.
The Royal Rumble is the first thing many people would think of when the WWE comes up so it’s important it gets the respect it deserves. Is there anything the mode currently doesn’t offer that you’d love to see added to take it to a new level? What’s your top wishlist item for the Royal Rumble when you finally get a chance to play WWE 2K26.
