WWE 2K23: Details on Top Modes, New Gameplay Options and Superstars

WWE releases its latest video game offering, WWE 2K23, on Tuesday and will look to continue the franchise's mighty bounceback that began a year earlier.

That edition of the game, appropriately titled WWE 2K22, righted many of the wrongs that nearly derailed the series in 2020, improving in every facet and upgrading a player experience that had grown stale.

This year, developers will look to build on the foundation they created with the previous offering by expanding the existing modes and providing another enormous roster full of modern and past favorites for fans to choose from.

MyGM Mode

The MyGM mode in 2K22 was a fantasy booker's dream that not only allowed players to book the matches but forced them to oversee the entire operation of a WWE brand. Players built a roster on a budget, booked matches, built rivalries and did so all while managing production values, Superstar egos and pressure applied by opposing general managers.

There were some limitations in last year's mode, including the ability to book only for different gimmick matches for your shows. That changes in 2K23, revealed on Austin "Xavier Woods" Creed's Up Up Down Down, with the addition of the following match types:

• Triple Threat
• Fatal 4-Way
• Steel Cage
• Falls Count Anywhere
• Submission
• Iron Man
• Last Man Standing
• Tornado Tag

While last year's offering allowed fans to choose which general manager they were from the likes of Adam Pearce, Sonya Deville, Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon, the new game expands on that roster, too, with the inclusion of Woods and Tyler Bate as GMs, joined by Hall of Famers Eric Bischoff and Mick Foley.

There are new seasonal challenges and Slammy Awards offered, all with the intention of taking a mode that fans liked but that definitely needed a bit more to really transform it into a destination game mode.

The addition of the match types is a significant step in that there are only so many times you can play one of four or five matches before things grow stale, especially by the time you hit a pay-per-view offering and have to reuse some of the same matches across the card.

We will find out Tuesday if the changes produced the desired effect, but the fact that developers made those tweaks is a reflection of their desire to better the game and, also, their belief in the mode to become one of the cornerstones of the WWE franchise.

MyFranchise and MyRise Modes

Like other 2K sports franchises, WWE fans have the opportunity to collect Superstar cards and upgrade them along the way to help build a dream faction of competitors.

Take a base Roman Reigns card and level it up to gold or greater, all while bettering your collection of stars in online multiplayer—a new feature for the mode this year.

There are alternative attires to be had and unique live events, too, incentivizing players to crack open their first pack of cards and go on the journey toward sapphire, platinum and diamond editions.

A new Pink Diamond level will be introduced post-launch that will give players an even more powerful card to build their franchise around.

The utilization of the card-collecting modes has become one of the most popular additions in any 2K franchise, and that likely will not change here. There is something about collecting rewards and building on them that has always been a fun and rewarding aspect of any game, and to capitalize on that by allowing fans to work toward building their own faction was a wise move.

The multiplayer functionality should be the key improvement over last year's initial offering, but that is something players will find out Tuesday.

The MyRise mode allows users to participate in one of two storylines.

The men's storyline debuts you as the proverbial next big thing, while the women's introduces you as a second-generation competitor faced with the task of following in your famous aunt's footsteps, according to WWE games fansite The SmackDown Hotel.

The opportunity to build a career from the start to the conclusion of a storyline made for a fun play. It will be interesting to see how much has changed, both from the customization in the create-a-wrestler studio and how, if at all, the storylines have expanded with a year to build them out.

An Expansive Roster

WWE 2K23 follows its predecessor with another expansive roster featuring top Superstars of today, popular legends of yesteryear and the always-controversial Madden-esque ratings to go along with them.

Roman Reigns stands atop the mountain, ranked a near-perfect 99, while his WrestleMania opponent, Cody Rhodes, comes in at a rather conservative 91.

International music star and occasional WWE Superstar Bad Bunny is available as downloadable content for players preordering this year's edition of the game, and developers recently announced post-launch content packs featuring current competitors like The OC's Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, Hit Row's Top Dolla, Ashante Thee Adonis and manager B-Fab and most importantly, Bray Wyatt.

Throw in legends such as The Steiner Brothers, Zeus, Eve Torres and Harley Race, and NXT competitors like Pretty Deadly, Tiffany Stratton, Wendy Choo and Tony D'Angelo, and you have another massive roster that satisfies the appetites of players looking to control competitors from a variety of WWE eras.

It will be interesting to see if the developers are able to give fans enough to do with the men and women it has figured into the game, as it did with the relaunch of the game a year ago.

If it can, with steady improvements to the newly established modes, 2K and WWE may find rave reviews waiting for fans so desperately in search of the next great pro wrestling video game.

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