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WWE 2K26 fans are discovering just how much of a grind the game's new battle pass system is after developer Visual Concepts replaced the traditional DLC model with it.
WWE 2K – like with all publisher 2K's yearly sports games, for the most part – is really into asking you to give it more money. For years, it has had its own spin on EA Sports' Ultimate Team card game – seen in the likes of EA Sports FC and Madden – which focuses on opening virtual booster packs, and on top of that, locks certain wrestlers that can be used in the regular modes behind random drops.
Last year, publisher 2K also introduced The Island, a pseudo MMO mode where you can pay in-game currency to buff your wrestler up, effectively creating a pay-to-win mode. This year, however, the WWE's nickel-and-diming has gotten even worse with the new WWE 2K26 Ringside Pass, or battle pass, of which there will be six drops over the course of the year.
Considering how bad just one Ringside Pass is, six is going to be ridiculous. For starters, the free track of Ringside Pass Season 1 has all of the old WWE Legends, belts, and arenas you would have previously been able to unlock through an in-game shop, or an "unlock everything" booster DLC. Players have also reported weird restrictions in the Ringside Pass, which seems to make any customization to a match – down to choosing what weapons appear under your ring – void it out and grant you zero progress.
There's also the issue of time. I played 30 hours of WWE 2K26 over its review period, and I barely made it past the halfway point of the 40-tier pass. YouTuber ThisGenGaming reports that they played the MyRise story two-and-a-half times, all of Showcase mode (which can't be repeated), a chapter of the Island, and a full segment of World Tour in MyFaction, on top of 40-50 regular matches to reach level 40, and the whole process took them about 40 hours. But you could also pay $77 per season to get tier skips, if you want to access content you've already paid for more quickly.
Needless to say, players on the WWEGames subreddit aren't happy. One user reports they haven't even hit Tier 2 after four Showcase matches and a regular match using an XP booster item.
"All I can do is laugh," their post reads. "I paid $150 for extra content and they want me to burn myself out just to use it? I have a job not to mention a life outside of WWE games I probably play 100-200 hours AT MOST every yr.. This is honestly one of the scummiest forms of corporate greed I've seen in a while, and the only thing worse are the 'just play the game' people defending it."
I'm not a blind battle pass hater, but this is one of the single worst ones I've ever seen. At least with the likes of Fortnite, you're only missing out on cosmetics, not full playable characters that would've been unlocked instantly after purchase any other year.
Plus, the WWE 2K26 DLC is looking to be one of the best in the series to date, with the likes of Earthquake, Brian Pillman, Bam Bam Bigelow, and the Hardy Boyz on the list. So what should've been an easy slam dunk for the game has actually become the worst thing about it.
