Despite the disappointment after the launch of WWE 2K20, developer Visual Concepts is here to stay. The studio will be returning as the WWE 2K21 developer, which is expected to launch this fall. The series endured a shakeup after longtime WWE studio Yukes left 2K last year, shifting development to Visual Concepts. This sudden shift led to myriad issues with 2K20, to the point of the game being virtually unplayable for some. Parent company Take-Two stated it will be “actively working” with the developer to improve the overall quality of the series.
WWE 2K20 was in such bad shape, the hashtag #FixWWE2K20 began trending on Twitter, along with numerous videos and images depicting the game’s bugs. Some of these were funny visual issues, and others deeply impacted gameplay. Take-Two was “disappointed” with the game’s reviews, but remains optimistic about the series’ future. Since launch, WWE 2K20 has been improved with multiple patches issued to address the game’s bugs and glitches.
WWE 2K21 Developer is Visual Concepts
Going forward, Visual Concepts will serve as the sole developer of the WWE games, while its previous studio Yukes works on its own unannounced wrestling title independent of 2K and the WWE license. Aside from it notorious work on WWE 2K20 (and now heading the WWE development team), Visual Concepts is also known for its work on the NBA 2K series, which has been much better received than its wrestling counterpart. Last year’s entry, NBA 2K20, recently surpassed 8 million copies sold worldwide.
Although Take-Two stumbled with WWE 2K20, the parent company had a strong third quarter last year, with many of its fall titles performing well from a commercial standpoint. Now that Visual Concepts has a year of serving as lead developer on WWE 2K under its belt, Take-Two anticipates the next entry will be an improvement.
[Source: Take-Two via Video Games Chronicle]
