Developer Visual Concepts and publisher 2K Sports decided to take a full year off of releasing WWE games after WWE 2K20 was met with a negative response from critics and fans alike, leaving a question of WWE 2K22's release date an open one. With that extra development time, many are hoping that that the game will take a leap forward after slowly falling off over the last few entries. WWE 2K22 was officially unveiled back at Wrestlemania 37, but the team hasn't shared much more since then.
Currently, the only real information Visual Concepts and 2K Sports have shared is the confirmation of several wrestlers being in the game. That group includes Rey Mysterio, Cesaro, Bayley, Booker T, Bobby Lashley, Ric Flair, The Miz, Randy Orton, and Angel Garza. Of course, the WWE 2K games are known for big rosters of wrestlers, so expect to see many more added as the release date draws closer.
WWE 2K22 doesn't have a firm launch date just yet. Instead, they've only given the nebulous "Coming Soon." That likely means WWE 2K22 could come anytime this fall or winter. That said, the WWE 2K22 Twitter account hasn't had an update since June 15. This doesn't mean the game is delayed, but it does make a delay seem possible.
When Is WWE 2K22 Release Date?
It's not often that a game, especially a yearly sports franchise, gets announced and then isn't heard from for an entire month. The saving grace is that the WWE is holding its annual SummerSlam pay-per-view event on August 21. If the WWE 2K22 team wanted to make another splash with its audience, that would be a great time to do it.
SummerSlam is arguably the WWE's second-biggest pay-per-view event every year. Outside of WrestleMania, there isn't another time when more eyes are on the product. If Visual Concepts is still planning to release WWE 2K22 this year, having a presence at the show seems like a near-necessity. Were they to miss SummerSlam, it would certainly feel like a delay announcement is imminent.
But this all remains speculation. Until Visual Concepts or 2K Sports makes an official announcement, it's impossible to know anything with certainty. It's difficult to envision another yearly franchise being as invisible as WWE 2K22 has been over the last few months without something troubling happening behind the scenes. That doesn't mean they can't release a quality wrestling game in 2021, it's just starting to feel less likely the longer they go between announcements. Hopefully Visual Concepts and 2K Sports clear it all up at SummerSlam.