New 2K Game Released Just This Year Already Has a Shutdown Date

A new 2K game just released this year already has a shutdown date. In 2025, many games have either been shut down or have had shutdown dates announced. And this is a trend that is not going away. Whether it is expiring licensing, publishing rights changing hands, or online games shutting down servers, delistings and shutdowns are becoming more and more common. This problem is amplified by the fact that more and more games are digital only, so when they are shut down and delisted, they disappear forever.

The good news is this latest shutdown announcement from 2K Games isn’t going to be relevant until 2027, and that’s because the shutdown of said game, WWE 2K25, isn’t until March 14, 2027. So, players of this game have time. And by the time March 14, 2027, comes, it will have been replaced by two more annual installments of the wrestling sim. That said, the game itself was only released on March 7 of this year, so for it to be shut down, and then delisted, in just two years is a very quick turnaround time.

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$70 for a Game That Only Exists for Two Years

WWE 2K25 currently costs $70. For someone — whether on Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X — to spend $70 on a game and only be able to play it for two years before it’s made obsolete is a questionable deal for the consumer. When you buy a movie, for example, you can view it 20 years in the future, as long as you still have access to the technology to view it. In this regard, video games face a unique problem.

It’s also worth considering that while there will be two new WWE 2K games by then, there is no guarantee they will be competent products worth investing money into. To this end, WWE 2K25 is one of the better installments in recent years. In 2027, there may be two newer games, but they may be worse, which will make this shutdown sting even more.

All of that said, this problem is not unique to 2K or WWE 2K. In the defense of the latter, just earlier this year, two 2K games disappeared from Steam without any warning. This is an expanding problem for the video game industry, and so far, there has been little to no regulation from within or from external forces on the matter. We wouldn’t be surprised if the latter changes eventually, though.

As always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.