With the next installment on the horizon, the WWE 2K23 release date has officially been unveiled along with details about Early Access as fans clamor to get in on the action. Pre-order details have outlined all bonuses available across various editions, but 2K has also revealed key game modes players will get to tackle this year.
After years of requests, WarGames arrives in WWE 2K23 for the first time in series history and it’s accompanied by all of the top game modes players will be expecting. Here’s everything that’s been revealed so far about the WWE 2K23 new features and game modes.
WWE 2K23 release date and pre-order early access officially confirmed
Following the reveal of WWE 2K23 cover star John Cena, further details about the next installment in this longtime franchise were confirmed by 2K. The WWE 2K23 release date is set for March 17, 2023, but that worldwide launch does not include players who score early access.
If you choose to pre-order the WWE 2K23 Deluxe Edition or WWE 2K23 Icon Edition, it will come with three days of early access making the effective WWE 2K23 release date for those players as early as March 14, 2023. Fortunately, the PlayStation Store already shows an unlock time of Midnight ET, which for clarity would be March 13, 2023 at 11pm Central Time.
They’ll also use a Midnight ET unlock time for the Standard Edition, meaning it will become playable at 11pm Central Time on March 16, 2023. Some players may attempt the classic New Zealand Time Zone trick by adjusting the internal clock on your console to play early, but the effectiveness of the tactic varies widely and may not work on WWE 2K23.
WarGames arrives in WWE 2K23, all known game modes and features
Perhaps the most exciting of the WWE 2K23 new features that have been confirmed is the arrival of WarGames, the prolific double-cage structure originally created by the late Dusty Rhodes and inspired by the 1985 cult classic film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The inaugural WarGames match took place in 1987 during the NWA Jim Crockett Promotions’ Great American Bash tour. It remained a mainstay of the NWA and later WCW until the company’s 2001 closure.
NXT TakeOver: WarGames from 2017 saw the rebirth of this iconic match, and fans have been begging 2K to put it in the game since that night saw The Undisputed Era victorious in Houston’s Toyota Center. The wait is finally over, as WarGames will be playable with both 3v3 and 4v4 multiplayer matches in WWE 2K23.
2K confirmed the return of Universe Mode, MyRISE, MyFACTION, MyGM, and a new 2K Showcase which will feature cover star John Cena where you play as his most prolific opponents. MyFACTION may have the biggest upgrade as it will include online multiplayer, a feature which was sorely missing from last year’s first iteration of the game mode.
MyGM will continue to expand with more GMs to choose from, additional show options, multiple seasons, expanded match cards, and more match types (of which WarGames will not be one, sadly) in addition to 4-player local multiplayer. MyRISE will feature distinct storylines this year dubbed “The Lock” and “The Legacy” as 2K has explained, but further details about how MyRISE would unfold were not confirmed just yet.
Players still waiting to hear more before they dive in and confirm a pre-order for WWE 2K23 should keep an eye on the WWE Games accounts (@WWEGames) on Twitter and YouTube. Additional trailers as well as deep-dive videos for new features and game modes will surely land on those platforms if 2K has them planned between now and the WWE 2K23 release date.