Ever since Visual Concepts pushed Yuke's aside, they've absolutely turned the WWE 2K series around after that trainwreck WWE 2K20. I've been playing these games since the SmackDown vs. Raw days, and honestly, WWE 2K25 looks like it might be the most packed wrestling game we've ever seen.

The roster is absolutely stacked - over 300 wrestlers from the Attitude Era all the way to today's stars. I'm particularly stoked to see how Roman Reigns, Cody and Gunther play, especially with the improved mechanics they've been hyping up.

WWE 2K25 Release Times and Dates

If you bought the regular version, you're waiting until March 14th at midnight your local time. But if you splurged on one of those fancy editions (more on those below), you get to jump in a week early on March 7th.

Release Times by Time Zone:

• Los Angeles (PST): March 13, 9:00 PM (standard); March 6, 9:00 PM (early access)
• New York (EST): March 14, 12:00 AM (standard); March 7, 12:00 AM (early access)
• London (GMT): March 14, 12:00 AM (standard); March 7, 12:00 AM (early access)
• Berlin (CET): March 14, 12:00 AM (standard); March 7, 12:00 AM (early access)
• Cairo (EET): March 14, 12:00 AM (standard); March 7, 12:00 AM (early access)
• Tokyo (JST): March 14, 12:00 AM (standard); March 7, 12:00 AM (early access)
• Sydney (AEDT): March 14, 12:00 AM (standard); March 7, 12:00 AM (early access)

I've already cleared my weekend schedule for the 7th - planning to recreate some classic Attitude Era matchups right away. Anyone else staying up for the midnight release?

How to Get Early Access to WWE 2K25

To play a full week before everyone else, you'll need to purchase one of two special editions:

• Deadman Edition (£89.99 / ~$110)
• Bloodline Edition (£119.99 / ~$145)

Xbox users can employ the New Zealand time zone trick to start playing a few hours earlier, but PlayStation users will need to wait until their local midnight release time.

Game Editions and Benefits

Standard Edition: Includes the base game, releases March 14.

Deadman Edition: Includes seven-day early access, the Deadman Edition Bonus Pack (featuring Brother Love as manager, Undertaker '90, and Mattel Elite Greatest Hits Undertaker MyFACTION card), the Season Pass, Wyatt Sicks Pack, and 15,000 VC.

Bloodline Edition: Includes all Deadman Edition content plus The Bloodline Edition Bonus Pack (Mattel Elite Series 114 Jey Uso and Mattel Elite Greatest Hits Roman Reigns MyFACTION cards), the Ringside Pass, and The Rock Nation of Domination Pack.

WWE 2K25 DLC Schedule and Content

The Season Pass (included with Deadman and Bloodline Editions) will add 25 additional playable superstars across five DLC packs:

1. New Wave Pack (May 2025)

• Alex Shelley
• Chris Sabin
• Giulia
• Stephanie Vaquer
• Special celebrity guest (TBA)

2. Dunk & Destruction Pack (June 2025)

• Abyss
• Great Khali
• Three NBA stars (TBA)

3. Fearless Pack (July 2025)

• New Jack
• Jordynne Grace
• Penta
• Bull Nakano
• Special celebrity guest (TBA)

4. Attitude Era Superstars Pack (September 2025)

• D'Lo Brown
• Billy Gunn
• Road Dogg
• Victoria
• Mark Henry

5. Saturday Night's Main Event Pack (November 2025)

• Jesse Ventura
• "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff
• Tito Santana
• Junkyard Dog
• Sid Justice

New Features in WWE 2K25

The game boasts several expanded gameplay features including:

• The return of chain wrestling
• Underground and Bloodline Rules match types
• Barricade diving
• The new Island mode
• Global MyGM with online multiplayer and multi-week seasonal content
• Commentary-driven promos with new cutscenes in Universe mode
• Branching choices with multiple outcomes

With Wrestlemania 41 just around the corner and the game featuring cover star Roman Reigns alongside current champions like Cody Rhodes and Gunther, WWE 2K25 looks set to continue the franchise's recent success under 2K Games.