Ahead of its official reveal on Friday, January 30, prior to Saturday’s Royal Rumble Premium Live Event (PLE), it’s been revealed by the ESRB that when WWE 2K26 launches, it’ll do so on every platform but PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
2K’s flagship wrestling simulator has been on the hardware since 2K15, and unlike the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 counterparts, which saw support through 2K17, PS4 and Xbox One users have had support up through last year’s WWE 2K25.
The discovery, which was first found by Insider Gaming, lists PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2 as consoles for the title. It wasn’t until the Switch 2’s release last year that 2K returned to Nintendo’s platform, as it had previously taken a hiatus following the highly-criticized and lacking port of 2K18 on the original Switch console.
By skipping last-gen consoles for the first time in a decade, the WWE 2K franchise will become the latest annualized series to leave its last-gen roots behind, often staying longer than anyone could’ve anticipated following the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2020.
Hey 2K, Just Copy How Fortnite Does Microtransactions And Stop Wasting My Time
I want to give WWE 2K25 my money. Why is it so hard?
Already, EA’s UFC series and Madden franchise, 2K’s own PGA Tour series, F1 and Sony’s MLB The Show have left the consoles behind either recently or for some time now.
With WWE 2K also out, it leaves the NBA 2K franchise and EA’s FC franchise as two of the biggest stragglers. Call of Duty did release Black Ops 7 on last-gen hardware, while Battlefield’s return via Battlefield 6 opted against it.
It’s unlikely that either of this trio, particularly EA Sports FC, will ditch last-gen behind for good anytime soon. Back when it was still FIFA, the PS3 received FIFA 19, and the PS2 received FIFA 14. Which is to say there’s history and precedent there.
Even If Annualized Franchises Are Ditching Last-Gen, Some Games Are Being Ported Backwards
Late last year, it was announced that Marvel Rivals would be going backwards to PS4. That decision by NetEase coincided with multiple other live-service titles ending their support for older hardware, including PUBG and Genshin Impact, two of the most popular titles around.
It’s not just live-service titles, as both Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Hogwarts Legacy announced PS4 and Xbox One copies after the original releases were decidedly “current-gen only.”
Considering that the PS6 might be delayed longer than what has originally been reported, and gamers recently being pushed to finally upgrade to a PS5 from an original PS4, we might be seeing this phenomenon for some time.
Highguard’s Failure Shouldn’t Matter This Much
Highguard has become a talking point for gaming artistry, instead of just a generic shooter that’s not as good as Apex Legends.
