GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

WWE license heading to Take-Two?

Sources say wrestling game franchise will be sold to Grand Theft Auto parent publisher; unclear if Yuke's will remain developer.

By Eddie Makuch on January 24, 2013 at 12:44PM PST

59 Comments

Unspecified sources have told IGN that the WWE franchise license will be sold to Grand Theft Auto parent publisher Take-Two Interactive. Terms of the deal are not known, as these details have reportedly not yet been finalized.

A Take-Two representative said the company does not comment on rumors and speculation.

The official WWE Games Twitter account responded to the rumor, saying, "We don't have any details to share yet, but there will continue to be WWE Games. Stayed tuned for more information and some exciting news."

It is not clear if Take-Two will keep Yuke's--longtime series developer and owner of the game engine--on board for future games.

The WWE license was notably absent from THQ's formal auction process yesterday that saw its other franchises and studios sold to five different publishers.

Click To Unmute

WWE '13 Mixed Tag Team

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

This video has an invalid file format.

00:00:00

Sorry, but you can't access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

View Comments (59)

WWE '13

Join the conversation

There are 59 comments about this story

59 Comments RefreshSorted By 59 results 1 2

GameSpot has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to toxic conduct in comments. Any abusive, racist, sexist, threatening, bullying, vulgar, and otherwise objectionable behavior will result in moderation and/or account termination. Please keep your discussion civil.

Please Log In to post.

majere613

719

Forum Posts

Wiki Points

Followers

Reviews: 6

User Lists: 0

majere613

As interesting as this is, can we please have some investigation of what's going on with the 40k license? It's not been specifically mentioned so far and it's a pretty big deal!

Upvote • 11 years ago

lsthecawman

Forum Posts

Wiki Points

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By lsthecawman

@majere613 Although I can't say with any certainty, I saw someone else comment on a previous article that Games Workshop always retained the W40K license themselves and only 'loaned it' to developers. The same guy also claimed that there are rumours it was retracted as soon as THQ filed for chapter 11 and that SEGA are -allegedly- in negotiations as they already have the Warhammer fantasy one. Again, I'm not sure but it's one thing I heard mentioned. I think it was on the comments on the "THQ dissolved" article on here...

Upvote • 11 years ago

MasterOfSprites

568

Forum Posts

Wiki Points

Followers

Reviews: 15

User Lists: 0

MasterOfSprites

It would be cool to finally get someone else's vision of a wwe game, I hope it involves blood and bra and panty matches. I miss them days.

Upvote • 11 years ago

SpardisJX

Forum Posts

Wiki Points

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By SpardisJX

I say its time for a change, I'm tired of playing with the same core game mechanics every year. So kick Yukes to the wind and get 2K Sports to continue the franchise. My mouth is drooling with anticipation.

8 • 11 years ago

kurtven

105

Forum Posts

Wiki Points

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

kurtven

phew fortunately Ea did not get their hands on it, they have a tendency to ruin games

Upvote • 11 years ago

EPaul

9917

Forum Posts

Wiki Points

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

EPaul

a boost in quality incoming then

Upvote • 11 years ago

lsthecawman

Forum Posts

Wiki Points

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

lsthecawman

Although the Smackdown series had some fantastic times (SYM, HCTP and Universe mode from the last three iterations) , it also had quite a few drawbacks too. Maybe it's time for the new publisher to ditch Yukes and welcome back Syn Sophia/AKI as I'd wager that the majority of wrestling game fans would cite Wrestlemania/No Mercy -and their Japanese equivalents- as the greatest wrestling games of all time.

2 • 11 years ago