WWE 2K26 Hands-On Preview: Money in the Bank

Visual Concepts has done an excellent job with the WWE 2K series as of late.

Last year, WWE 2K25 was easily one of, if not the best sports game I have played all year. The team did an excellent job not only of capturing the gameplay to deliver an authentic WWE experience, but also of the presentation.

They also introduced a brand-new game mode called The Island, featuring an original storyline in which we proved our worth to Roman Reigns and the Bloodline faction. Sadly, it felt more pay-to-win than anything else, though I did learn some interesting tidbits about what Visual Concepts has been cooking with The Island for this year and beyond. I also got some extended hands-on time with it during the recent WWE Creator Fest, something I did not get to experience last year.

For this preview, though, I want to focus on the game as a whole. It’s easy for an annual sports game to improve on shortcomings. It’s much harder to improve on what was generally a good game, though. After spending several hours with WWE 2K26, it feels like Visual Concepts is once again headed in the right direction.

Look in my Eyes, What Do You See?

Over the past few years, the hallmark of a WWE 2K game has been its Showcase Mode. This is where the game gets to honor WWE history, featuring commentary from the best the industry has ever seen.

This year, it’s CM Punk sitting down and narrating through his career highs and lows. In typical CM Punk fashion, he takes a shot at the notion of him having to recount his worst moments, but he spins it in a positive light, especially when it comes to rewriting history.

During the game’s reveal, I touched on how this year’s Showcase Mode will let you “rewrite history” and experience some dream matches that never happened due to Punk’s extended departure from the company.

You’ll also be able to relive his biggest moments, and the first match I played during my hands-on time was his title defense against JBL at SummerSlam 2008. There’s a brief history of the match (Punk had cashed in his Money in the Bank contract against a recently attacked Edge, which led some to view his title reign as “illegitimate”), but I wish I had been able to see more of that.

Given the depth and storytelling Showcase Mode has portrayed over the years, I’m hopeful the final game will deliver in that regard, but I honestly felt a little underwhelmed this past week. Of course, a busy and loud event isn’t the best place to experience a game’s story mode, so I get it. It is, however, an excellent place to check out all the new match types WWE 2K26 offers.

WWE 2K26 is Bringing Back More Match Types

I was able to experience all four of the new match types making their return to WWE 2K26: I Quit, Inferno, 3 Stages of Hell, and Dumpster.

This isn’t the first time they’ve been in a WWE video game, but it’s their first appearance since the franchise was rebooted a few years back.

Dumpster matches play exactly as you’d expect them to: beat up your opponent to where you throw them into the ringside dumpster and win the mini-game to close the dumpster’s lid. The mini-game works exactly like a submission hold: press the prompted button and fill a meter in your intended direction to either close the lid or escape the dumpster. It’s nothing revolutionary, but it’s still a fun gimmick that does a good job of expanding the match types available in WWE 2K26.

The Inferno match feels somewhat similar, except for it featuring growing flames on the side of the ring. Power slams onto the mat will grow the flames, and when they’re large enough, you’ll be able to toss your opponent through them to win. To do so, you’ll need to play through the same mini-game, though you may have the option to complete an Inferno Finisher. Again, fun gimmick, but since you need to be accurate with where you throw your opponent, it can be annoying at times.

The I Quit match was the one I was most looking forward to. Quit matches are exactly like they sound: you need to beat your opponent into submission so badly that they say “I Quit” into a microphone. You’ll be able to prompt your opponent to say “I Quit,” which will trigger, you guessed it, a mini-game. This one feels both similar to the kick-out mini-game, but also unique at the same time, which is a nice change of pace. Honestly, the I Quit match has so much potential to unleash devastation on your opponent, but it comes with a potential drawback. If your opponent randomly fails the mini-game, the match can be over surprisingly quickly.

Finally, we have the 3 Stages of Hell match, where you choose their match types in a “two out of three” falls scenario. I did enjoy that the damage you sustained from a previous match carries over, adding some continuity to the scenario. This ties into what’s honestly my favorite thing about WWE 2K26.

WWE 2K26 Continues to Up its Presentation

One of the biggest things Visual Concepts and 2K stressed last month during our Q&A call was the desire to let creators run wild. One way they’ve done that thus far is by adding flair to wrestler entrances. While I didn’t exactly get the chance to mess around with my own create a wrestler entrance since time was limited, I was still able to make some minor tweaks to the already established entrances of WWE’s biggest stars.

I can make the crowd cheer for heels, boo faces, or even add a little bit of pyro and flames to entrances. Rhea Ripley’s in-ring entrance and pose hits even harder when there’s fire bursting through the ring posts. It’s a minor touch, sure, but it’s fun and helps me remain engaged with something I honestly otherwise mostly skipped last year.

This also lets me see all the attention to detail Visual Concepts has employed for these entrances. They look fantastic and do a great job of nailing the look and feel of the actual WWE product. That presentation continues once you enter the ring: before a match starts, you can draw from the crowd’s energy, staredown your opponent, or even rush them before a match begins. It helps deliver a big fight feel to every match.

Which reminds me, too, and I know it’s an odd segue, but I don’t know where else to say this. The back-and-forth trading blows segment of a fight, which happened wayyyyy too much last year, has been greatly reduced. Look, I get it; it’s fun to cheer when your favorite lands a punch and boo when they take one, but I didn’t want to do it every fight. Napkin math says it went from happening 90% of the time (I’m estimating here) to maybe 20ish %, which is a huge win in my book.

WWE 2K26 is Shaping Up Quite Nicely

There’s so much more I can’t wait to explore, too. I’m excited to see how the MyRISE story plays out this year. Showcase has so much potential, and I’m even excited that The Island is making a return rather than being a one-and-done feature.

WWE 2K26 will be available on March 6 in Early Access and March 13 for the standard release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2. If all goes well, it could once again be one of the best sports games of the year.