WWE Reportedly Tried To Include Recently Returned Star In WWE 2K22
Cody Rhodes, founder and former star of All Elite Wrestling, made his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38. While many were expecting Rhodes to be back after his business relationship with AEW had seemingly deteriorated, it's unlikely that anyone foresaw him being a late addition to "WWE 2K22." Rhodes never did make it into the game, but according to SportsGamersOnline.com, it wasn't for lack of trying.
SGO reported last week that WWE was in talks with Take-Two Interactive, which is the parent company for "2K" series developer Visual Concepts, to bring the American Nightmare into the game as downloadable content after he returned. Since the company knew Rhodes would be coming back in February, they wanted to get him back in time to do a special DLC package for the character after WrestleMania.
The report cites "a person close to the developmental team," who claimed that "WWE tried, but it was quickly shot down."
"They knew it was unlikely," the source continued, "but you don't know for sure unless you ask."
The report also stated that given all the detail that goes into creating characters, there simply wasn't enough time to add Rhodes to the game, especially since the game's entrance announcements are performed by Greg Hamilton, who had already been released from the company. For now, unfortunately, "WWE 2K22" users will have to rely on their own community creations version of Rhodes if they want to play as the American Nightmare. Cody's last appearance in a WWE game came in 2016 for "WWE 2K17," in which he was playable as Stardust.
WWE has been rumored to be in talks with Electronic Arts (EA) over the rights to the WWE Games division of the company, looking to add themselves to one of the top gaming publishers in the world. The recent installment of "WWE 2K" was viewed as a make-or-break project with a lot riding on its success.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit SportsGamersOnline.com with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.