Take-Two CEO thinks WWE 2K could be double or triple its current size

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick believes 2K's WWE franchise is punching well below its weight — and he thinks Visual Concepts can grow it to double or triple its current scale. He made the comments to IGN off the back of Take-Two's latest financial report.

The numbers are moving in the right direction: WWE 2K26 recurrent consumer spending is up 20% year-over-year, and players have logged more than 85 million matches — a 7% increase over WWE 2K25. Still, the WWE series sits firmly in the shadow of 2K's NBA franchise, which generates far more revenue for Take-Two. Zelnick credited TKO and WWE chief Nick Khan for the brand's momentum, but was clear that the game itself has room to grow. "I do think there's ongoing opportunities to improve the quality of the game," he said. "I think that title could be double or triple the size that it is as long as we delight consumers, and as long as we give them something new and not expected."

The path to that growth isn't straightforward. Monetization has been a friction point with the WWE 2K26 community — specifically the new Ringside Pass battle pass system, which replaced the traditional six DLC packs players were used to. The original setup required grinding through all 40 tiers to unlock purchased roster members, rather than getting instant access the way DLC packs worked. After widespread backlash, 2K changed course: from Season 2 onward, all four characters in the Premium track unlock immediately at Tier 1, and the XP required per tier dropped from 800 to 625 — a threshold 2K says won't be raised again. Each Ringside Pass runs $9.99 / £8.99 per season, with an annual pass at $49.99 / £44.99. IGN scored WWE 2K26 a 7/10, noting the game benefits from a strong foundation but that recent changes are starting to hurt more than help.

WWE 2K27 is already confirmed, with a likely March 2027 release window. Whether Visual Concepts can make the changes Zelnick is envisioning — and rebuild trust on the monetization front — will determine whether that growth target is realistic or just executive optimism.