WWE 2K26 'Attitude Edition' announced during SmackDown: Expected release date, roster, and legendary cover art

WWE and 2K games have been teasing the latest installment in the professional wrestling series game over the last few days and the fans of the popular franchise finally have something to cheer about. During the January 23 episoe of SmackDown, WWE officially unveiled the WWE 2K26 'Attitude Era' Edition.

The Attitude Edition is a special edition of the popular WWE 2K series that pays tribute to one of the most iconic periods in professional wrestling history. The era from late 1990s to early 2000s in professional wrestling was marked by larger than life characters, intense rivalries, hardcore matches, unforgettable catchphrases and emergence of various breakout stars.

The cover of the game showcases many iconic superstarts from professional wresting including "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Kane, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Trish Stratus, and Lita.

WWE posted the video on its X handle with the caption, "The era that changed everything… No rules. No filter. No apologies"

WWE 2K26 'Attitude Era' Edition release date:

The video posted by WWE reveals that pre-order of the game will begin on 30 January, 2026. WWE and 2K games have not yet announced the release date for the game but leaks suggest that the game could be launched within Take-Two Interactive's fiscal year Q4 2026 which suggests a lauch by early March 2026.

In any case if 2K games follows its usual pattern, we should have more details about the standard edition and any other edition planned along wit the release date in the next few weeks.

WWE 2K26: What's expected sor far?

While the "Attitude Era" edition will celebrate the legacy era of professional boxing, the standard WWE2K26 has been tipped to center on the career of CM Punk, capturing his rise in WWE to 2011 "Summer of Punk," along with his 2023 surprise return to the sport. The game is expected to feature “What if” scenarios and fantasy match-ups that reimagine key moments from Punk’s career.

There are also rumours of Island Mode making a comeback in the game with a sequel storyline where Roman Reigns' has been removed as ‘Tribal Chief’ and the three rival factions struggle for the control of the "Island of Relevancy", one of whom is also tipped to be a new group called “Order of Anarchy.”