If you haven’t heard, WWE has been going through some big changes as of late, and all of them point to potential big things in the future should things continue as they are. One of the biggest things was that WWE was bought out by the Endeavor Group, which is the same group that owns the UFC. As a result, the company is much richer, has a bigger backer for their shows, and could potentially expand in new ways. On the gaming side of things, the company hit a new high with WWE 2K23, and they’re showing some love to fans as a result.
By “new high,” we mean that WWE 2K23 is the company’s highest-rated game of the 2K brand. That’s a big deal for numerous reasons, not the least is that a few years ago, the series was almost killed off due to poor performance and sales. But after bounding back with last year’s version of the game and improving that to make the recent release better, things have finally turned around for the gaming line.
To celebrate many of the game’s successes, WWE has revealed that they will be releasing free playable characters for gamers to use via the next patch. Who is this WWE superstar? That would be none other than Candice Larae:
For those not familiar with her, Candice Larae is easily one of the most underrated women in WWE. She was a star in NXT and held titles there alongside her friend and faction member Indie Hartwell when they were a part of “The Way.” She’s a longtime veteran of the wrestling game, and many still hope she’ll get a push on the main roster. She’s also known for being married to “Johnny Wrestling” himself, Johnny Gargano. The two are one of the few full-on couples in WWE, and they get a lot of love and attention from fans.
You might notice something interesting about the character model for Larae, mainly that this model is not new but old. Many have pointed out that this is the exact model she had from the previous 2K title, and it was simply imported into the new game. Why did they do that? It’s likely because her look hasn’t changed much, and it was easier to import.
This means that other wrestlers from the last game could be brought into the game to save time and thus expand the roster for gamers even more.
