More details are emerging regarding the recent layoffs at Visual Concepts, and it appears the teams tied to WWE gaming projects were among the hardest hit.
According to Mike Straw of Insider Gamer, the company-wide cuts significantly impacted the developers working on WWE titles, including both the main WWE 2K franchise team and the group assigned to the WWE 2K25: Netflix Edition project.
The report also sheds light on why the Netflix partnership may already be coming to an end.
Straw wrote that, “sources within Netflix say that those in charge felt it didn’t ‘meet expectations.’ One source said bluntly, ‘They expected it to be something it was never designed to be: a mobile game.’”
That reportedly played a major role in Netflix deciding not to continue the arrangement beyond this year’s release.
“After the release of WWE 2K25: Netflix Edition, Netflix opted not to renew its deal for Netflix Editions of WWE 2K26 or WWE 2K27. That left an entire team without projects moving forward,” Straw added.
That’s a significant development considering the amount of attention the Netflix-branded version received when it was first announced.
Visual Concepts has handled the WWE 2K franchise since taking over the license in 2019 following the departure of Yuke’s. Since then, the series has undergone a major rebuild after the troubled launch of WWE 2K20, with the franchise regaining momentum in recent years through releases like WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23, WWE 2K24, and this year’s WWE 2K25.
At this point, there is no word on whether the layoffs will impact future WWE game development timelines or planned post-launch content.
