Mr Viral
As of today, the servers for WWE 2K23 are no more. Publisher 2K has shut down online functionality for the wrestling title, which means players can no longer access online game modes, including matches and community creations.
Players who purchased the game can still play it offline, which is common for titles that lose their online functionality. Its in-game virtual currency and storefront were previously taken down last November ahead of the servers being sunset.
In recent years, 2K pulled online functions for prior games in the popular wrestling series, or just fully delisted them. With 2K23 now among those ranks, last year’s WWE 2K24 is the only entry in the franchise with its servers still active.
Players are pushing back against games going offlineCompanies like 2K are beginning to face more pushback from players after sunsetting support for online games. One of the more infamous stories was the shutdown for Ubisoft’s first The Crew game, which originally released in 2014.
The subsequent backlash to the developer announcing a plan to keep its sequels, The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest, alive through separate offline modes. Despite that, a pair of players filed a lawsuit in November against Ubisoft for the first Crew’s shutdown.
Elsewhere, European players launched a “Stop Killing Games” movement that calls for developers to make their games fully offline from the start instead of via post-launch patch. Meanwhile, a California bill recently went into effect requiring sellers of digital items to stop using terms like “purchase” or “buy” in transactions, and must instead disclose people are buying licenses to digital items.
Major publishers like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are required to comply with this bill, which is part of a larger effort by the state to protect consumers and curb false advertising.
But unlike the Undertaker, WWE 2K23’s online functions will not be returning from the dead.
About the Author
Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don’t ask him about how much gum he’s had, because the answer will be more than he’s willing to admit.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings