With crisp fall nights already here and winter just around the corner, we are getting nearer and nearer to 2026, and that means that wrestling gaming fans are now likely closer to the release of WWE 2K26 than to first getting their hands on WWE 2K25. For any annual cycle game, the discussion in the months before release is less about what to broadly expect and more about what specific things will or won’t be in the next edition.
Operation Sports WWE 2K26 Wishlist
For WWE 2K26, there is the opportunity to make some big strides forward for the franchise and mend some of the issues that see the game mired in the dreaded “Mixed” review reception with fans on Steam. One of the best ways to do that is to deliver on new modes and features that fans are eager for. To that end, we’ve checked out fan discussions across the web and social media, added in from our own experience with the game, and compiled this list of things we want to see in WWE 2K26 when it drops next year.
Let Us Make Them Quit
One thing you can’t criticize 2K of is not leaning into an ethos of more, with the game featuring a comically expansive roster and a wide range of match types to plug those wrestlers into. With a sport with such a long history of unique matches and match styles, however, there is always room for more, and that means there are always matches we wish we could play. For 2K26, we’re hoping to see the return of a wrestling classic with the inclusion of “I Quit” matches.
As the name implies, these matches can only be won by forcing the opponent to verbally submit into a microphone. An only-submissions match with an extra burst of embarrassment. Not only is it an iconic match type, it allows for the creation of another unique win system to play under, whether that’s tweaking prior “I Quit” editions or introducing a new one entirely, representing your opponent’s slowly diminishing willpower.
Dynamic Roster Updates For MyGM Mode
MyGM is a fun mode for players with a mind for management sims, as it places you in control of one of the game’s wrestling promotion brands with the job of outcompeting your competition. To do this, you need to hire wrestlers onto your roster wisely, match them interestingly, and deliver matches that the fans love, using profitable shows to fund bigger and better ones as your career goes on.
Although famous for its massive rosters, the WWE 2K series does not make all those wrestlers available from day one, as DLC and scheduled drops keep things fresh throughout the cycle. Unfortunately, with no way to add new downloaded wrestlers into your MyGM, you need to start a whole new campaign if you want to include your new wrestlers. Adding a way to update the in-universe roster for your MyGM would be a huge boost.
A Bray Wyatt Showcase Mode
Showcase modes have been a wonderful way to highlight popular wrestlers and their careers while also allowing players to try their hand at some classic matches and match types. Windham Rotunda, aka Bray Wyatt, feels like a no-brainer to receive his own mode. Revered by fans as one of the most creative and unique superstars in the sport, a Showcase mode in his honor would serve as both a tribute to Rotunda, who died unexpectedly in 2023, and a source of some fun wrestling.
While there is no shortage of iconic options to choose from, this would most notably allow the game to offer a take on the famous Firefly Funhouse match with John Cena. Filmed under COVID restrictions, the two put on a bout that was half wrestling, half arthouse nightmare sequence, and it would give fans the pop of all pops to learn they can soon play it.
Beat Up Hulk Hogan
Not every Showcase through the years has been about playing as one character over and over. With WWE 2K23’s Beat Up John Cena mode, fans instead played their way through some of the most iconic losses in Cena’s career. While still a tribute to Cena, it also allowed fans who liked to root against the face of the promotion to go on an extended run of Cena butt-kickings.
That brings us to Hogan. While it feels unlikely that 2K developers would go for a gimmick like this so soon after his passing, few wrestlers have seen their prime reputation drop so hard, both inside the ring and out, in the years since they left it. Now reviled by large portions of the wrestling world, even those who would still argue his significance demands a place on 2K’s huge roster, the chance to hammer him over and over feels like a perfect compromise.
Keep Expanding Create a Superstar
If there is one thing wrestling game developers have understood through the years, it’s that wrestling is a sports entertainment product that thrives on its superstars. Combined with how common it is for fans to have thought about their own theoretical gimmicks and it’s no surprise wrestling games have often had more in-depth character creators than even their RPG peers at the time.
WWE 2K26 is no exception, with its wrestler creator a true playground that gamers have repeatedly stress tested, rarely finding it wanting. Is it a bit churlish to still ask for more, then? Possibly. But A great thing only gets better when you add more fun, so we hope to see continued development on the mode year on year to keep the new wrestlers coming.
These are the five biggest additions we’d like to see in WWE 2K26, but we know it’s not all that fans are hoping to see when it releases next year. Which of our suggestions is most interesting to you, and what would you like to see in 2K26 that we missed?
