Verdict
WWE 2K26 feels like a great step in the right direction in various ways, finally offering a bit more substance in MyRise, a creative Showcase with some great ‘what if’ scenarios, and a massive 400-strong roster. However, it’s not without its issues on the Nintendo Switch 2, including occasional drops in frame rate and rendering issues.
There are many sports game series that have annual releases, like Madden and EA Sports FC, but there's only one I purchase year after year, and that's the WWE games. From the days of SmackDown: Shut Your Mouth to the era of SmackDown vs. Raw (2007 and 2008 remain the best WWE games, in my humble opinion) and into the current 2K reign we're living in. So, it goes without saying that I couldn't wait to get my hands on WWE 2K26.
Last year, WWE 2K25 came to Nintendo Switch 2, bringing with it the brand-new game mode, The Island, which returns in 2026. It follows on from last year's narrative, with three new factions rising up in a fight for dominance now that Roman Reigns has lost his seat as the Tribal Chief.
While I like The Island and can see an improvement in it this year, I think we're still another game or two away from it becoming something fantastic - maybe longer, given the trouble My Rise continued to have over the years. I love the roaming in The Island and the story approach from My Rise - to be honest, if they combined the two and did it well, that might well be the perfect career mode for me.
The showcase mode has become a big staple of the series over the years, since its debut in WWE '13, and I have to say that 2K26's is one of my favorites, following the story of CM Punk. Every wrestling fan knows that name, and whether you love him or hate him, you have to respect him. As you see throughout the Showcase, Punk has had some impressive matches during his illustrious career - in wrestling only, I'm sure he'd rather we all forget his meager attempt at being a UFC fighter.
One of my favorite things about Punk's Showcase is that while you get to relive some of his greatest moments, you also get to experience his dream matches with WWE Legends he never had a chance to meet in the squared circle. You also have the option to take part in a 21-person gauntlet. If you win, you automatically unlock everything in the Showcase, eliminating the need to complete all the objectives (which can be tedious). Plus, you don't need to play as the Straight Edge superstar; you can play as his wife, AJ Lee, instead if you prefer. I lost it when she returned last year after a ten-year absence, so being able to play as this icon again is pure joy.
Moving onto the career mode, My Rise is a point of contention among fans, as its quality fluctuates every year, with last year's being particularly lacking - the premise and story were excellent, the execution and unavoidable betrayal of your partner, however, marred that. Beyond story issues, a constant complaint year after year is that there's nothing for you to do in My Rise after finishing the story, with most being too bland to warrant a replay unless you're a perfectionist who collects everything. In 2K25, the game encourages you to replay by letting you make different choices that lead to different storylines.
While that's present once more, with you ultimately choosing whether to follow the path of being a face or a heel, and being able to change your alignment periodically to offer various storylines, a big change is that you still have more to do after the main story concludes. In 2K26, you get to continue defending your championship, or win it back should you lose the belt. While this isn't something that's going to lock you in for hours, it feels like a step in the right direction for My Rise.
This 2K26 career mode is one of the better ones in recent years. However, it still doesn't achieve the same levels of greatness as the SmackDown vs. Raw days, namely 2007 and 2008, which had genuinely fun storylines that hooked you and lasted substantially longer. Still, I enjoyed my time in MyRise this year, and I will play through again to unlock all of the items and see what it's like to be a baby face the whole time. What? Heels have so much more fun, and you know it.
The matches themselves are as enjoyable as ever, and I'm loving creating my own fantasy world with Universe as I do every year, along with involving myself in the match-ups in GM mode to ensure my ratings are good. I'm a very competitive person, so you'd best believe I go all in to get those ratings, though it often means my top stars like Randy Orton and Charlotte Flair are out with injuries due to the brutal match-types (Flair was out for the entire year due to her knee injury in 2024, so maybe I should be more merciful on The Queen).
Three gimmick matches make a triumphant return this year, helping boost my GM ratings even higher, and frankly, I'm still surprised the first one ever left: "I Quit", Inferno, and 3 Stages of Hell. Alongside those, the game also extends intergender matches so you can pit male and female superstars against each other in every match type. Thanks to these changes, you can create even more exciting bouts through your dream 'what if' scenarios.
One of the most important things about wrestling games, even those that aren't under the WWE banner, is the creation suite. It's something that continues to improve year-on-year, and 2K26 is no different, offering a huge array of items to create your wrestler, along with a heap of moves, entrance options, and more. It takes me a good couple of hours at least any time I create a new character, and I enjoy every moment of it - particularly when creating a moveset. Come on, we all have that character who knows nothing but finishing moves.
In the creation suite, Nintendo Switch 2 players get access to unique features designed specifically for the platform, using the Joy-Con 2's motion controls to offer extra precision when applying face or body paint to your wrestler. Personally, I'm not a fan of the mouse controls and haven't been since day one, so I don't use them, but it's neat for those who enjoy the gimmick. You can also make the most out of GameShare and GameChat on the Switch 2.
As for performance, WWE 2K26 runs pretty well on the Nintendo Switch 2, but it's not without its issues. There's stuttering, frame rate drops, and rendering issues to contend with at times. None of them are too grievous; they're mostly fleeting, lasting just a couple of seconds, but they're there nonetheless. I wouldn't recommend avoiding the game entirely on NS2, given that you can play it on the go and the issues aren't too intrusive, but I imagine you'll be able to avoid those problems (for the most part) on other platforms.
Finally, I can't leave this review without drawing attention to something that's mighty impressive, and a series first, is the presence of more than 400 playable characters, which feels a bit bonkers, to be honest. Granted, some have yet to arrive, coming in later content, but the options get a bit overwhelming, especially as you unlock more and more as you progress through the various game modes, so I tend to stick with my favorites, like Rhea Ripley, when I'm not playing as my own character.
All in all, WWE 2K26 is a solid entry into the series, making some welcome changes that set it up for more success in the years to come, though it's not without its issues on the Nintendo Switch 2. As a wrestling fan, I highly recommend it, but if you have the option to play it on a different platform, you could potentially avoid the frame-rate and rendering issues.