For the last 22 years, theWWEfranchise has been a staple of the sports video game genre. Starting all the way back in 2000 withWWF SmackDown!,professional wrestling has been the subject of countless video games, with well over 20 of them brandishing the WWF/WWE license. But that doesn’t mean that allWWF/WWEgames have been hits. In fact, over the years, there have been more than a handful of duds in the annual wrestling franchise, andWWE 2K20was one such game.
Upon its initial release,WWE 2K20was panned by both critics and fans alike, with the overall opinion being that it was a marked step-down from its predecessor,WWE 2K19. With Yuke’s, the developer of everyWWF/WWEtitle up until this title, leaving the series and Visual Concepts taking over,WWE 2K20lacked a distinct layer of polish, being riddled with technical issues that led to much of the game being practically unplayable. Despite this, however, some fans are still disappointed with the recent news that bothWWE 2K20, andWWE 2K19’s online servers are being shut down in just under a month.
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When WWE 2K19 and 2K20’s Servers Are Shutting Down
WhileWWE 2K20may not have been the best game, it still had its fans, andWWE 2K19was still enjoying a fairly large player-base as it was the last title of any real quality. For those groups of fans, the announcement that their servers are being shut down is sure to be a disheartening one. Via a tweet fromthe official WWE 2K Twitter account, fans learned that these titles' servers will be shut down on July 08, 2025.
This will mean thatWWE 2K20and2K19players will no longer be able to participate in any form of online matches. The most disappointing aspect of the server shut down will be the loss of these titles' wealth of user-created content. Once the servers shut down, players will no longer be able to download any user-created characters, which means all thebizarre character crossover and pop culture mash-upswill soon be but distant memories.
For those who are just a few trophies or achievements away from reaching 100%, now is the best, and only, time to jump back in. Unfortunately, quite a few ofWWE 2K20and2K19’strophies/achievements are restricted to just online play, so there are only a few weeks left before they’re locked forever.
Why WWE 2K19 and 2K20’s Servers Are Shutting Down
Toward the end of WWE 2K’s official Twitter announcement, the post reveals the reason behind the servers' shut down, that being 2K’s desire toshift all of its focus to the recently releasedWWE 2K22. This decision makes a lot of sense, withWWE 2K22being the publisher’s firstWWErelease in a few years, and it obviously being the title with the larger player-base right now only adds to the logic behind the company’s decision.
For many fans, this server shut down won’t really be an issue at all. With thegeneral reception toWWE 2K22being pretty favorablefrom both long-time fans and critics, it seems likely that the majority of the fan-base will have moved onto this newer game, largely forgetting about the previous installments. After all, the annual release is nothing new in the video game sports market, and fans are pretty used to moving on to the next installment in the franchise after just a year. For those that are still playing these two oldWWE 2Ktitles, though, online play will unfortunately be going away soon.
