WWE 2K19: Release Date, Cover Art and Details for Ric Flair Special Edition

Like Brock Lesnar in a WWE ring, WWE 2K19 isn't pulling any punches. 

The latest offering from 2K Sports launches October 9, or October 5 for those players who upgrade to the Deluxe Edition or Wooooo! Edition. 

The standard and Deluxe Edition come equipped with A.J. Styles on the cover. 

Longtime WWE fans and even casuals will know what the Wooooo! Edition is all about: 

That Ric Flair-themed ultimate edition of the game is only shipping 30,000 copies, making it a collector's item on top of the built-in bonuses. 

Those bonuses include a Funko Pop! figurine, a Hall of Fame replica ring, a plaque featuring fabric from one of Flair's robes and even WWE SuperCard limited edition cards.

"Few in life have celebrated the mantra of 'Never Say Never' quite like Ric Flair, so it's an honor to celebrate his legacy through the WWE 2K19 Wooooo! Edition," Chris Snyder, vice president of marketing at 2K Sports, said, according to wwe.2k.com. "This jam-packed collector's offering of exclusive physical and digital items is the perfect way for fans to showcase their enthusiasm for 'The Nature Boy' and his incredible accomplishments."

Of course, fancy pre-order bonuses and packaging won't mean much in the sporting-game world if an annual release doesn't improve upon the prior edition. 

WWE fans can rest easy here—2K Sports is making a point with this game to attack areas fans have requested. 

Take, for instance, Showcase mode. It is back after an odd hiatus and featuring one of everyone's favorite superstars, Daniel Bryan. The last time fans really got a deep dive on this mode it featured Stone Cold Steve Austin, so the wait has been quite long. 

WWE 2K19 creative director Lynell Jinks told Mat Elfring of Game Spot the idea found inspiration in the great documentaries available on the WWE Network itself:

"[W]e came up with the idea of having [Daniel Bryan narrate] it, but we wanted to do it in a cool way and we're heavily influenced by what the WWE does as far as their production with the W24 series or 365. We're like, 'can we get [WWE's] production team to do this?' And they were like, 'Oh yeah. This sounds like an amazing idea. Yeah, let's do it.' It was greenlit and so we moved forward with it. And so we were like, the next hardest thing was to come up with the matches, right? That we felt best represented his career."

MyCareer gets a major update at the request of fans as well after last year's game featured barebones activities and an odd backstage slog. 

This year, the game does away with the text-only interactions and has plenty of voiceovers while telling a compelling narrative weaving in a player's journey from the indies to WWE itself. 

And really, it only seemed like a matter of time before MyCareer got the proper treatment considering it can take cues and beats from another 2K Sports title. The NBA 2K series has tackled compelling story modes for years, so 2K Sports running wild with the characters available at its fingertips makes sense: 

Fans can expect improvements in plenty of other areas as well. The tried-and-true formula is still here, but 2K Games is getting creative with things like big-head mode and a Towers mode. Gameplay is seeing plenty of refinements as well, including a new payback meter system to help match flow. 

The game also stresses the implementation of 15,000 new lines of commentary and improvements to not only computer A.I., but overall framerate. Also arriving alongside new six- and eight-man tag matches is the Women's Royal Rumble and updates to in-game features such as the steel cage and Hell in a Cell. 

Like Flair himself in the ring, it sounds like WWE 2K19 will deliver in many areas fans asked for, as well as some they didn't—and improvisation done well is always a good thing.