Vince McMahon, who was recently put under federal investigation following sex trafficking allegations, was understandably not included in the roster for WWE 2K24. However, with the former CEO being such a major part of the company, many fans were wondering what the 2K team would do when it came to the Showcase Mode in WWE 2K24. This year’s showcase celebrates forty years of WrestleMania history, an event McMahon had a huge hand in shaping over the years. Now that WWE 2K24 is officially out, we have our answer. While McMahon is technically included in WWE 2K24‘s Showcase Mode, 2K has blurred his face during many of his segments.
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WWE 2K24 Blurs Vince McMahon’s Face in Showcase Mode
The news was spotted by a Reddit user who goes by Strike_Gently. They posted to the SquaredCircle subreddit with a picture from the WrestleMania showcase that features McMahon and WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair. As you can see in the post above, McMahon’s face is blurred out during the segment. This is far from the only instance of McMahon’s face being censored from the mode. Remember, WrestleMania was, in part, his creation. A mode celebrating it is going to feature a lot of McMahon, especially with the allegations coming late in WWE 2K24‘s development cycle.
However, while McMahon is blurred in most cutscenes, he’s not completely out of the game. Video Game Chronicle noted that the former CEO does appear as an in-game character during The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin’s match at WrestleMania 17. VGC also says that the Mania 17 match includes unblurred scenes of McMahon throughout.
It’s also worth noting that McMahon isn’t the only reason 2K Games blurs certain faces. Several former referees have gotten the same treatment, as have signs in the crowd when the WWE couldn’t secure the rights. That said, McMahon’s censoring is more prominent and for very different reasons. As mentioned, given when the allegations were announced, it would have been nearly impossible for WWE 2K24 to completely scrub McMahon from the game. At that point, the content was already locked in, and the most the team could do was censor him in the footage and lock his in-game model from players.
10-time Champion Brock Lesnar was seemingly included in the McMahon allegations and has received similar treatment. His model cannot currently be accessed in the majority of modes. However, he is involved in two of the Showcase matches. Players will get to relive Lesnar breaking The Undertaker’s streak at WrestleMania XXX and Seth Rollins’ championship heist (at Lesnar’s expense) at WrestleMania 31. However, you cannot unlock Lesnar anywhere else in the game.
WWE 2K24 is available now on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms.
