The WWE universe is gearing up for the first ever two night SummerSlam this weekend at MetLife Stadium. To celebrate, fans can play out their own SummerSlam dreams with the free to play weekend for WWE 2K25.
The free play period is already live as of July 31, and runs until August 3, the second day of the real life SummerSlam.
The only catch, on Xbox, at least, is a small one, but still needs noting. You need to have an active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard or Core subscription in order to play.
On PC, there are no requirements. Simply load up the WWE 2K25 store page and hit "play game" to install it to your rig.
I haven't tried it on Steam Deck yet, as I'm an Xbox player, but a quick check over on ProtonDB shows that WWE 2K25 has a Platinum rating. User comments show a great experience on the Steam Deck without any need to tinker, with 60 FPS gameplay fairly achievable.
That's no real surprise since WWE 2K25 is one of the few new big releases from this year that's still built with a version for Xbox One.
A ton of gameplay, some better than others
WWE 2K25 is the first wrestling game I've played in a number of years, and I've mostly been having a great time. There is a lot of content to try out during the free play weekend, but I'd recommend some more than others.
Unless you plan to go on and buy the game after (and it is currently reduced) steer clear of MyFaction. You don't have to buy anything to get started, but unless you're in it for the long haul, it's not really worth spending much of your free play weekend on.
However, if you do drop in, check out our guide to currently active WWE 2K25 locker codes and get yourself a couple of extra free packs. Some expire today, August 1, though, so you'll need to be quick.
What I recommend most is to play MyRise. This is the story campaign mode for WWE 2K25 and it's quite superb. Decisions you make will alter the path you take, it's actually a great story, and there are unlockables you can earn.
MyRise also has replay value, because different paths need to be taken to unlock all of the rewards.
If you're on console, you have The Island you can play through, but I'd only really recommend using the free time you have to hit up the Bray Wyatt storyline. It's available to all without any progression required, and can be found in the Deadlands. If nothing else, it contains previously unseen footage, so it's worth checking out.
The Showcase mode is pretty good, too. It follows the Bloodline and is narrated by Hall of Famer, Paul Heyman. You get to play through some historical matches, in some cases change the outcome of some historical matches, and in others will see different eras collide.
Unless you're playing non-stop until the free play period ends, you won't have enough time to really check out everything, but I think these tips will help you experience some of the best bits.
So who you got winning? Cody or Cena?
