WWE 2K25 Game Mode Risks Making NBA 2K’s Worst Mistakes

With the announcement of WWE 2K25, fans are already getting excited for all the new features coming this year. One game mode that's become a standout in recent years is finally getting a highly requested upgrade, but some changes in this installment might not be for the better.

Despite delivering high quality gameplay in recent years, two NBA 2K game modes with a heavy emphasis on microtransactions have weighed down the overall experience. With the expansion of MyFACTION and addition of The Island, WWE 2K25 is on track to make all the same mistakes.

WWE 2K25 and The Island of Microtransactions

Since rebooting the series with WWE 2K22 after the disaster that was WWE 2K20, this hallmark wrestling sim franchise has consistently gotten better. Fan complaints about WWE 2K20 being riddled with glitches were heard loud and clear, and every release since WWE 2K22 has been pretty stable at launch. Fan requests to bring back GM Mode were also heard, as MyGM has now become a staple of the current games.

However, the canary in the coal mine that WWE 2K was on the verge of disaster may have been the introduction of MyFACTION. To say that the mode took inspiration from MyTEAM in the NBA 2K series would be an understatement, as it's basically an adapted clone of the same concept. Players have to earn in-game currency to open packs to maybe get better collectible cards which are used to get even more packs, and all of this links into the fact that players can just spend real-world money on microtransactions for in-game VC that will let them open more packs and progress more quickly.

While it was relatively easy for players to ignore early on, WWE 2K25 will only continue to expand on a feature that seems to have quickly become the bait to get players in and spending extra money on the game. Persona Cards were added, and this means that players who unlock Persona Cards featuring alternate versions of characters in different attire or from different eras in their career will get to use those same versions outside of MyFACTION in other game modes.

WWE 2K24 featured dozens of Persona Cards with these unlockable playable characters exclusively available in this microtransaction-ridden game mode, and there are sure to be even more in WWE 2K25. Despite its flaws, MyFACTION alone wasn't enough to drag down an otherwise solid release in WWE 2K24. The same may not be true now that The Island is coming to WWE 2K25.

Modeled after The City in NBA 2K, it's basically a boring Grand Theft Auto clone that makes getting to any actual basketball a monumentally frustrating and annoying task. The City has become a beacon for overbearing advertisements and in-game versions of real-world clothing brands and stores, but it's also the only men's career mode available in NBA 2K.

Players are left with the option of burying hundreds of hours to upgrade their MyPLAYER build enough to even have a chance at an even playing field when competing online. The City is built to convince players to spend money on Virtual Currency to buy additional cosmetics and to power up their MyPLAYER, and even the core NBA basketball games against the CPU in this mode aren't really enjoyable without significantly upgrading your MyPLAYER.

The one thing working for The Island is that WWE 2K25 will still have a separate offline career mode in MyRISE, but even that feels at risk. MyRISE featured two unique storylines last year, one for male superstars and one for female superstars. MyRISE only has one unified multi-gender storyline this year, which could be mostly to highlight the fact that ingergender wrestling is finally available, but it also could've been a decision made to shift some of the team towards microtransaction connected modes.

That's ultimately the problem with MyRISE and many other game modes: there aren't any microtransactions. Making a game that's good enough for many fans to decide it's worth buying is one path to revenue, but making a game that tricks the ones who do buy it into giving you every last penny they have seems to be 2K's preferred path. While WWE 2K25 could find a better balance than the NBA 2K series, they're wading into precariously detrimental waters.