WWE 2K23

“*Even stronger.*”
―Tagline
***WWE 2K23*** is a professional wrestling video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It is the twenty-third overall installment of the video game series based on WWE, the tenth game under the *WWE 2K* banner, and the successor to *WWE 2K22*. The game was released on March 17, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

## Gameplay

### Showcase

This year's showcase focused on cover star John Cena. But this time, the players are not playing as John Cena. They're playing as various opponents that Cena fought throughout his career. It also featured three bonus matches, including a dream match with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, and Bruno Sammartino in an elimination fatal 4-way match.

### Universe

Universe Mode returns in *WWE 2K23*. Before playing, players has an option to import their roster from Play mode or using the default options. And like the previous game, players can play either Superstar Mode with a superstar of their choice or classic mode where they can edit shows, superstars and teams, and rivalries.

### MyRise

Like the previous game, MyRise has two distinctive storylines to play in... either as The Lock in the titular storyline or LJ in "The Legacy."

## Roster

The game has 125 superstars at the start of the game. AJ Styles, WWE Hall of Famer Lita, Paul Heyman, and Roman Reigns, who are part of this year's showcase, have individual alternate attires that can be unlocked by completing all the objectives in each match. With 85 superstars that are unlocked from Showcase, MyRise, and the VC Store respectively, for a total of 210 superstars. Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny appears as a downloadable character (DLC). He is once available when they pre-order the game, then becomes available in stores online. Candice LeRae and Mia Yim, who previously appeared in *2K22*, has returned as part of version patch 1.09. Another version of Bad Bunny based on his match at *Backlash '23* is also added that can be bought from the pack or the Bad Bunny Edition of the game.

### Managers

There are three managers at the start of the game, while the other three can be purchased at the VC Store. B-Fab, representing Hit Row as part of the Steiner Row DLC pack, is exclusive as a manager for a total of eight managers who will accompany a superstar.

* Adam Pearce
* ***B-Fab***
* Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
* Mr. McMahon
* Paul Heyman
* Scarlett
* Stephanie McMahon
* Triple H

## Arenas

### Shows

* Main Event
* NXT
* NXT 2.0
* NXT Level Up
* NXT UK
* Raw
* SmackDown

### Premium Live Events

* Clash at the Castle
* Day 1
* Elimination Chamber
* Extreme Rules
* Hell in a Cell
* King of the Ring
* Mixed Match Challenge
* Money in the Bank
* NXT In Your House
* NXT New Year's Evil
* NXT Stand & Deliver
* NXT The Great American Bash
* NXT WarGames
* Queen's Crown
* Royal Rumble
* SummerSlam
* Survivor Series: WarGames
* WrestleMania 38
* WrestleMania Backlash

### 2K Showcase

* ECW One Night Stand '06
* SmackDown '02
* Vengeance '03
* WrestleMania 34
* SummerSlam '16
* SummerSlam '06
* New Year's Revolution '06
* SummerSlam '21
* WrestleMania 28
* SummerSlam '14
* Backlash '03
* SummerSlam '08
* Hell in a Cell '09

### MyRise

* Arena Estatal
* Club U.K.
* High School Gym - BCW
* High School Gym - Justine Battle Royal
* Japan Dome
* Japan Hall (Pro Wrestling Japan)
* Japan Hall - Joshi Japan
* LAW Arena
* Mexico Plaza
* Motion Capture Studio
* Performance Center
* SummerSlam - MyRise
* WarGames - MyRise
* WrestleMania - MyRise
* WWE Live Event

### Classic Arenas

* NXT '21
* Raw '02
* Raw '05
* Raw (Thunderdome)
* SmackDown (Thunderdome)
* SummerSlam '88
* WCW Halloween Havoc '97
* WCW Monday Nitro
* *WrestleMania 22*

## Soundtrack

*WWE 2K23* has 12 songs selected by executive producer John Cena, that can be heard in the main menu and can be customized by turning on or off a particular song in Jukebox menu. Some songs like Downstait's "Kingdom" and Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" are exclusive to Cody Rhodes and Ronda Rousey respectively. However, Bad Bunny's entrance theme song "BOOKER T" can be used like in the previous game.

* Bizarrap & Quevdo - "Quevdo: Bzrp Music Session, Vol. 52"
* Bullet For My Valentine - "No More Tears to Cry"
* Dei V ft. Omar Courtz - "Dame Lu"
* Doja Cat - "Vegas"
* HARDY - "JACK"
* IDLES - "Grounds"
* Joyner Lucas & Lil Baby - "Ramen & OJ"
* Letdown. - "Shipwreck"
* Luciano - "SUVs"
* Metallica - "Sad but True"
* Post Malone feat. Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott - "Take What You Want"
* Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Can't Stop"

## Playthrough

For unlocking purposes, he plays MyRise as Johnny Alpha in "The Lock" and new character Amaya in "The Legacy".

## Gallery

Deluxe EditionIcon EditionBad Bunny Edition
## Trivia

* This game was sponsored by C4 Energy. The energy drink that served as a sponsor of this year's *Elimination Chamber* premium live event.

## External links

* Official site
* WWE 2K23 on Wikipedia