It looks like the partnership between WWE and Take-Two (2K parent company) is coming to an end in the near future. According to reports, WWE has held preliminary talks with EA to discuss letting EA develop the WWE series of games. Due to the disastrous performance of WWE 2K20, publisher 2K had to let the series rest for a year to rebuild the new work. So WWE 2K22 is a bit of a make-or-break.
The last time WWE and 2K signed a contract was in 2016. According to sources, the contract is for six years, with an option to renew. If WWE 2K22 sells well, then a renewal is possible, but if WWE considers it a failure, then they turn to EA.
The report also notes that talks between WWE and EA have been on and off for many years, even before the 2016 renewal. However, the last time the two sides started negotiations again was in early 2021, just after the word of WWE 2K Arena was very general.
A source said: WWE is disappointed by the poor word of mouth and lack of success in recent games. For them, the gaming market is a major selling point and they believe they have fallen behind the competition.
WWE feels within WWE that games need to provide more reasons than ever to justify their costs, and many feel that WWE 2K games are not doing that.
WWE believes that their games are not fairly provided with the proper development resources by 2K compared to other sports games from 2K such as NBA 2K.
WWE believes that the sales of WWE games cannot be comparable to NBA 2K because 2K has cut development resources. Since WWE 2K15, the development budget allocated to WWE games has declined every year.
WWE and EA have complimented each other before. Stephanie McMahon praised EA for adding women to EA Sports NHL, while EA COO Laura Miele praised WWE for showcasing female talent on billboards in Saudi Arabia.
If EA does strike a deal with WWE for its video games, the release of the first game will require years of waiting.