WWE 2K24 blurred out former WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon’s face from some archived footage in its Showcase of Immortals recreation mode, though there’s one other occasion the place he seems totally uncensored, IGN has verified.
There’s been a lot hypothesis over how 2K would deal with McMahon within the newest recreation after a former WWE worker filed a lawsuit towards him, accusing him of sexual assault and intercourse trafficking.
In Showcase of Immortals, gamers can relive 21 of WWE’s most iconic Wrestlemania matches. These matches span from Ricky Steamboat vs. Macho Man Randy Savage’s Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 3 in 1987 to Cody Rhodes and Roman Reign’s Undisputed WWE Common Championship bout at WrestleMania 39. Every Showcase match interweaves archived WWE footage of key moments from WrestleMania feuds as cutscenes.
Whereas summarizing the storyline construct for Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey match at WrestleMania 35, WWE 2K24 blurs out McMahon’s face. The Showcase section additionally bypasses mentioning McMahon’s function within the feud — making a shock look on Monday Night time Uncooked and saying Aptitude is changing Lynch at WrestleMania 35 — by as a substitute saying “WWE would exchange her with Charlotte Aptitude.” You possibly can see the clip beneath.
Whereas McMahon’s face is blurred out and omitted within the WrestleMania 35 Showcase cutscene, he nonetheless makes a completely acknowledged and unblurred look within the cutscene for The Rock vs Stone Chilly Steve Austin match at WrestleMania 17. Nevertheless, reviewer Jarrett Inexperienced notes that gamers aren’t required to finish all of WrestleMania 17’s targets to maneuver the match ahead and think about IRL Showcase cutscenes. That means, gamers can end the match with out seeing footage of Austin turning heel and aligning with his long-time kayfabe rival, McMahon.
There’s additionally been hypothesis, too, about how WWE 2K24 would deal with the inclusion of wrestler Brock Lensar. Previous to the sport’s launch, Lesnar was changed by John Cena from the duvet of WWE 2K24’s particular Forty Years of WrestleMania version. A supply near the state of affairs advised IGN that Lesnar’s removing pertains to his reported connection to the lawsuit towards McMahon.
Though the previous multi-time world heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania 30 bout with The Undertaker — which noticed Lesnar shockingly break Taker’s undefeated streak — is playable in Showcase, each Lesnar and McMahon can’t be unlocked as playable characters in WWE 2k24.
McMahon’s ongoing lawsuit comes after a 2023 Wall Street Journal report alleging McMahon paid 4 girls $12 million in “hush cash” over the previous 16 years, together with a reported $3 million payout to a former WWE worker he allegedly had an affair with. Developer 2K’s efforts to distance itself from McMahon are pretty vital whenever you think about that McMahon was a playable character in WWE 2K23 amid the allegations revealed within the WSJ’s report.
2K didn’t reply to IGN’s request for remark.
In our assessment for WWE 2k24, we wrote, “Whereas not drastically completely different, WWE 2K24 is healthier in virtually each method, touting small but sensible additions to well-tested programs and modes versus taking larger dangers.”
Isaiah Colbert is a contract author for IGN. You possibly can observe them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.