History of WWE 2K (2000-2017) - Video Game History
287Learn the history of the WWE 2K franchise through collected gameplays starting from WWF SmackDown! in 2000 to WWE 2K17 (releasing October 11, 2016)
WWE 2K is a series that has more than 20 professional wrestling video games that are currently developed by Visual Concepts and Yuke's, and it was later published by 2K Sports. These series of games are based on the professional wrestling promotion WWE, which features the professional wrestling match types, storylines, and playable characters based on WWE programming. The series was originally named SmackDown!, after WWE's own SmackDown television program. The first release in the series was WWF SmackDown! in March 2000, which along with these subsequent titles, remained exclusive to Sony's PlayStation consoles. After the brand extension, the series was retitled SmackDown! vs. Raw in 2004, to indicate the Raw brand was also featured. Within a few years, the series had expanded to a yearly release cycle for various seventh-generation consoles as well as mobile devices. Yuke's had also released the games in Japan under the name of Exciting Pro Wrestling. However, after SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006, THQ took over as the Japanese publisher and the Japanese releases adopted the western name. The series was later renamed as just simply WWE, starting from 2011 and 2012.
After THQ's dissolution in January 2013, it was reported that the publishing rights for the WWE video game series were acquired by Take-Two Interactive. Take-Two confirmed the acquisition in February, saying that it would also retain the services of Yuke's and the THQ staff that worked on the WWE series. WWE 2K14 is the first game to be released under the 2K brand.
Reception to the series' games has overall been favorable, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 was rated 31st and 28th (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, respectively) in IGN's "Top 100 Games" list. It is among the best-selling video game franchises, with 60 million copies shipped as of 2013.
Games included in video:
WWF SmackDown! - 2000
WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role - 2000
WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It - 2001
WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth - 2002
WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain - 2003
WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw - 2004
WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 - 2005
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 - 2006
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 - 2007
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 -2008
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 - 2009
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 - 2010
WWE '12 - 2011
WWE All Stars - 2011
WWE '13 - 2012
WWE 2K14 - 2013
WWE 2K15 - 2014
WWE 2K16 - 2015
WWE 2K17 - 2016
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