WWE 2k14 will be the first wrasslin’ game to be published by 2KSports after their parent company, Take-Two, acquired exclusive World Wrestling Entertainment rights from THQ’s bankruptcy blowout.
So far, the game is looking very promising and to help heighten the anticipation, 2k has announced “30 Years of WrestleMania,” a new game mode intended to showcase 45 historic matches from professional wrestling’s most iconic annual event.
Casting a broad look back through WrestleMania history, 30 Years of WrestleMania is a single-player game mode featuring what we can assume is a large roster of past and present WWE superstars. WWE 2k14 allows players to revisit landmark matches between the biggest performers while trying to recapture the magic that would come to define an industry.
Authentic arenas from each event have been carefully rendered in WWE 2k14 and old-fashioned camera effects (reminiscent of Take-Two’s NBA 2K series) are included to add a visual layer to this nostalgic trip into squared-circle history.
Perhaps most notable is developer Yukes’s ambition to make these events feel as important as they did at the time. Several key bouts will feature in-game cutscenes that provide context for the matches themselves – these matches didn’t occur in a vacuum, they were the culmination of stories built months (or years) in advance.
There will also be specific objectives included to recreate the in-ring moments that made these matches so memorable. In WWE2k14, pitting legendary superstars against each other isn’t enough. It’s one thing to have Steve Austin face Bret Hart in at WrestleMania XIII, it’s an entirely other, more ambitious thing to include the blood-soaked, star-making final moments.
As of now, only three of the 45 matches have been announced. They’re as follows:
- Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant – WrestleMania 3
- The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan – WrestleMania 18
- The Rock vs. John Cena – WrestleMania 28
WWE2k14 is out October 29th in North America and November 1st in Europe. We’ll have more information when it’s available. In the meantime, tell us, which matches would are you hoping to recreate?