RIP WWE 2K19
On June 30th, 2022, the severs for WWE 2K19 were given the ultimate GTS. Those servers were originally scheduled to be turned off in 2019 with the release of WWE 2K20, but thanks to that game being a dumpster fire, and 2K facing intense backlash from gamers, they kept the servers running until a somewhat stable product was available – or until they could distract people with 2K22.
Shutting off those servers marks the end of a game that I think will be remembered even more fondly in the years to come. WWE 2K22 launched nearly 4 months ago and I find myself constantly frustrated that it’s not on par with a game that was released 3 ½ years ago. With 2K22, you’re always one button press away from the game crashing even after numerous patches. The most basic things in that game don’t work. You can’t edit shows in Universe mode without them reverting; you can’t preview user-created shows in the community creations; the lighting doesn’t work during entrances in some venues, and you can’t even select the Smackdown referee that was patched into the game AFTER release. It’s a pretty game, but it’s a mess.
That’s the great thing about 2K19…it just worked. 2K spends so much time and resources on modes like Showcase, MyCareer, and MyFactions, but those aren’t the features that fans of these games want. Hell, you can go into the trophy list on your Playstation and see how few people are playing those modes. What gives these games legs is the creation suite, the community, and the stability of the platform. 2K19 was the last game to check all three of those boxes. With the way that things are going with 2K developing these instead of Yukes, that might continue to be the case for some time.
Aside from the game working reliably, it’s a game that easily has the best roster that any game has ever had. With 2K22, it can be a bit depressing to see that half of the roster is comprised of people that were released from the WWE during the pandemic. With 2K19 on the other hand, you have the core group of people that made up that 2014-2019 era of WWE/NXT that really revived the interest in many wanning wrestling fans – me included.
But the thing that I’m the most appreciative of from WWE 2K19 is the community itself. While sharing your created work with others isn’t a new concept, the team behind #ECWLIVES took it to another level. With that, the best of the best when it comes to creation designers joined forces to release dozens of ECW wrestlers, arenas, and titles that were so good that they looked like in-game assets. For an ECW nerd like me that grew up having to settle for ECW Hardcore Revolution and ECW Anarchy Rulz, this project is a gift that keeps on giving. It’s essentially a game in its own right. With their #INDPSpirit expansion, those same creators released dozens of wrestlers, arenas, and titles from the independent circuit that formed in the wake of ECW and WCW’s demise in the early 2000s and that would go on to be the foundation of professional wrestling today.
It was a good run, but it’s not over. Thanks to the support from the WWE 2K19 community, even offline, this is a game that myself and others are going to be able to boot up for years to come.
