WWE 2K20 weathered a disastrous launch due to game-breaking bugs and glitches.

Reports suggest the controversy has prompted developers to jump ship.

Debacle expected to have repercussions on the future of the franchise.

Despite two ostensibly game-fixing patches, WWE 2K20 remains an abject failure, and now developers are jumping ship in droves.

WWE 2K20 Devs Leaving

Ex-WWE game writer Justin Leeper and now YouTuber ViolentLee reports that developers involved in WWE 2k20 are now leaving Visual Concepts, the game’s developer.

He suggests that those leaving are numbered in the double digits and are doing so without alternative employment lined up simply to distance themselves from the ‘stink’ surrounding the game.

No doubt, the task of fixing the raft of bugs and glitches plaguing the game must have appeared as too big a task for many at Visual concepts.

Ineffective Patches

The two patches pushed out since launch addressed ‘numerous significant community reported concerns’ according to 2K Games. These ranged from gameplay issues to WWE 2K20’s nightmarish character model glitches per the patch notes.

In reality, the patches have seemingly done very little, and it’s business as usual. Players report that many of the same issues remain. Others suggest the game is now in a worse state than it was at launch.

Since then, we’ve heard very little other than the usual fare of lackluster DLC and seasonal promotions, one of which highlights the dire state of the game. A little over a month on from release, WWE 2K20 is available for 50% off during Black Friday. Few franchise titles boast such a vertiginous drop in price so soon after release.

WWE 2K21 Already Doomed

Leeper also theorizes that the WWE 2K20 disaster bodes ominously for the future of the franchise. 2K Games failing to recuperate development costs will invariably result in budget cuts for next year’s title.

Budget cuts mean fewer developers (alongside those running for the hills) and resources to polish and innovate. WWE 2K21 already announces itself as dead on arrival.

The one saving grace of the WWE 2K20 debacle is a campaign spearheaded by 2K Games and the WWE 2K20 community that raised half a million dollars for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. At least some good has come of it.