WWE 2K23 Arrives in March With John Cena on the Cover

WWE 2K23 officially launches on March 17 with John Cena on the cover of all three editions.

Available on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X and S, and PC, WWE 2K23 will celebrate Cena's 20th anniversary as a wrestling superstar by featuring him on the three covers (below).

While the Standard Edition ($59.99) arrives on March 17, the Deluxe Edition ($99.99) and Icon Edition ($119.99) of WWE 2K23 both launch early on March 14. A Cross-Gen Edition of the game will also be available for $69.99 on March 17, which comes with both previous and current generation versions.

WWE 2K23 also promises several franchise advancements. A refreshed 2K Showcase mode lets players revisit Cena's most iconic matches with commentary from the man himself; the introduction of an official WarGames mode lets players engage in intense three versus three and four versus four matches, either in single-player or multiplayer; and other modes including MyGM, MyFACTION, MyRISE, Universe, and Creation Suite have also been expanded.

The Standard and Cross-Gen versions of the game include all of the above, while the Deluxe Edition also includes the Bad Bunny bonus pack alongside the Season Pass which will eventually add five post-launch DLC packs to WWE 2K23.

The Icon Edition includes everything in the Deluxe Edition plus the Ruthless Aggression Pack, which celebrates Cena by including his prototype character model, Leviathan Batista, developmental rookie versions of Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton, the John Cena Legacy Championship, and WrestleMania 22 Arena. It also comes with an Emerald Paul Heyman MyFACTION Manager Card and three Deluxe Premium Launch MyFACTION Card Packs.

Preordering the game will also reward players with the Bad Bunny Bonus Pack, which includes Bad Bunny as a playable character and a Ruby tier Bad Bunny MyFACTION card.

"It is a pleasure to tell the story of my career through the WWE 2K23 Showcase," said Cena. "2K has done a fantastic job capturing and invigorating the WWE 2K franchise through this concept, and I am honoured to grace the cover of WWE 2K23."

In our 8/10 review of the previous game, IGN said: "WWE 2K22 is a tremendous leap forward compared to 2K20. The action is faster, more pick-up-and-play friendly, the roster of 160+ wrestlers has never looked better, and the addition of MyGM mode rounds out a well rounded offering of modes for just about every type of wrestling fan."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.