The WWE 2K series of games always had an annual release schedule, dating back to its days under Yuke and THQ with 2000's WWF SmackDown! However, because of the lackluster performance and critical disaster that was WWE 2K20, Take-Two Interactive, who acquired the publishing rights to the franchise back in 2013, had no choice but to go back to the drawing board.

To try and mitigate the ensuing backlash of canceling WWE 2K21, 2K had Saber Interactive work on WWE 2K Battlegrounds, which was recently given away for free to PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Now, after taking a year-long break, 2K has good news for wrestling fans out there.

WWE 2K22 is shaping up to be a fantastic game

According to Forbes writer Brian Mazique, people familiar with the development of WWE 2K22 have told him that the gameplay is "fantastic" and that the game is using a rebuilt engine. He later added that his sources have told him that WWE 2K22 will have "cleaner" controls and that it would feel like a "wrestling fan's wrestling game".