10 Huge Video Game Franchises That Are Doomed To Fail
6. WWE 2K
Depending on who you ask the WWE 2K franchise is very much a failure already, though until recently still performed well enough commercially to make an annual release worthwhile.
The WWE 2K series has been widely criticised by fans for years for the insulting overabundance of bugs, shockingly dated graphics, and general lack of compelling updates to the formula.
For around a decade the series' reception has ranged from decent to terrible, though the release of WWE 2K20 back in 2019 was for many the straw that broke the camel's back.
Inexplicably even buggier and more low-effort than usual - seemingly due to the departure of regular developer Yuke's - WWE 2K20 received a brutal backlash from fans and critics alike.
The game's "disappointing" sales suggested that even ultra-loyal WWE fans weren't biting, which in conjunction with the pandemic led to the planned WWE 2K21 being cancelled.
Instead, 2K rushed out WWE 2K Battlegrounds as a stop-gap title, but it was basically a glorified mobile game and received mixed reviews to that end.
WWE 2K22 is currently set to release this coming March, and though 2K has promised it will offer a more refined experience, you'd be incredibly naive to believe that.
While it's possible 2K22 is a return to decency for the series, given the company's track record it's far more likely to be another mediocre-at-best effort that's really not worth your money - at least not at full price.
With WWE's fast-rising rival company AEW also hard at work on their own game, don't be surprised if they end up taking a huge bite out of the wrestling game market and potentially even killing WWE 2K outright in the long run.