In Character

Brock Lesnar on the cover is the obvious choice—intensity and damage, what a cover needs. But it works because WWE 2K17 understands what it’s actually selling: theater.

The creation suite is the draw. Build a wrestler from nothing, design their moveset and arena and entrance, write their promos. You’re basically inventing a character into existence. This year they added a promo engine where your words actually matter—you choose what to say, form alliances or burn bridges with other wrestlers based on your dialogue. It reframes the whole experience from executing predetermined moves into building someone with personality and stakes.

Career mode takes your created wrestler from NXT through the WWE hierarchy, and the path your character takes depends on your choices and your promos. When they reach the Hall of Fame, it feels earned because you shaped it. That’s where these games truly work.

The roster is massive—thousands of moves and animations, decades of wrestlers to play as or rebuild. The soundtrack is huge and anthemic, made to feel like you’re walking to a real entrance. These games have always understood something about wrestling: it’s performance and story first. The physicality is just the stage. That’s why they work at all.