One of the more controversial additions to WWE 2K25 was "The Island," a sort of open-world mode patterned after NBA 2K's "The City." To critics (including me), both modes exist primarily to seduce players into the overpriced microtransactions that have become a part of modern gaming. Insider Gaming is reporting that The Island will return in WWE 2K26 with some added features.
Take-Two Interactive makes billions off the microtransactions, so they're not going anywhere. The WWE 2K series used to be relatively free of them, but then it cribbed NBA 2K's card-collecting mode and now, its open-world store setup.
2K26's version of The Island, according to Mike Straw, will come with its own story mode. Apparently, Roman Reigns has been deposed as The Bloodline's Tribal Chief, leading to three factions warring for supremacy. So, can literally anybody be part of The Bloodline now? One of the three factions will reportedly be The Order of Anarchy.
Two of WWE 2K25's DLC characters, Goldberg and Nikki Bella, had to be unlocked through The Island. This is a big change from previous years in which the season pass unlocked all the DLC to come. The trend continued as the returning Brock Lesnar, part of the DLC celebrating John Cena's retirement tour, wasn't included in the Season Pass either.
I'm not shocked that WWE 2K is starting to pull from NBA 2K's playbook, but I'm certainly not enthused by it. We'll keep you posted on all WWE 2K26 developments, even the ones that make me sad.