Return of WWE 2K franchise reportedly imminent as Take-Two begins work at 2021 Royal Rumble

After a disastrous launch to WWE 2K20 in 2019, Take-Two and the WWE went in a different direction this past year. Rather than attempt to release a simulation wrestling game again in 2020, Take-Two partnered with Saber Interactive to release WWE 2K Battlegrounds, an arcade-style wrestling game that was a stark change of pace from the previous WWE 2K games. 2K Battlegrounds looks like a one-off though, as Take-Two has reportedly begun work on the next WWE 2K video game.

Per PWInsider, Take-Two officials are in Tampa, Florida to work on the next WWE 2K game. Tampa is the site for the 2021 Royal Rumble, a pay-per-view known for including not just most, if not all, of the WWE roster, but also WWE Legends that appear as entrants into the Royal Rumble match.

PWInsider reported that Take-Two is recording voiceovers of WWE wrestlers, as well as performing body scans on the vast majority of the WWE roster.

It’s been well-known for quite some time that the WWE 2K franchise was not dead, but it’s never been confirmed by Take-Two as to when the next edition of the series would be released. In a statement to fans back in April of 2020, the WWE Games team stated that the hiatus was meant to provide WWE 2K20 developer Visual Concepts some time to create a game to entertain both veterans and newcomers to the series.

So while we still don’t know when the WWE 2K series will return, it does appear we are getting very close to a reboot.