WWE 2K26 Essentially Has a $500 Microtransaction
While there’s a lot of excitement surrounding the upcoming WWE 2K26, especially as it reveals new details for its roster and game modes, some news may rub fans the wrong way. It’s entirely elective and done piecemeal, but a set of microtransactions in WWE 2K26 could charge fans almost $500.
For context, that’s pretty comparable to the ticket prices of WrestleMania 42. The cheapest offering on Ticket Master, as of this writing, is $443.75 (and obviously goes into the thousands). Reports have indicated that WWE is struggling to fill seats at WrestleMania 42, with Matt Hardy even calling it a “tough sell.” Similarly, this set of microtransactions is likely a hard sell for many fans.
Previously, WWE 2K26 developer Visual Concepts revealed the Ringside Pass—WWE 2K26‘s new Battle Pass-like system that replaces traditional DLC. Instead of getting separate DLC Packs (or buying all of them via the Season Pass) where characters are available the moment they are purchased, all post-launch DLC is delivered through and unlocked via the Ringside Pass system. Each season has its own Ringside Pass (which reportedly costs $10), and there are six seasons. Up front, players are expected to purchase WWE 2K26 and spend $10 on each season.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
While players can unlock every tier on a Ringside Pass by playing a game, there are also optional microtransactions to skip a tier at $1.99/pop. Insider Gaming’s Mike Straw confirmed that skipping every tier in the Ringside Pass, to immediately unlock the content players have already bought, costs $80. If someone skipped every tier for every season, that would come in at $480.
The Math on WWE 2K26’s Ringside Pass System
- WWE 2K26 Standard Edition: $69.99
- $10 for Each Season (6) of the Ringside Pass: $60
- Optional Microtransactions: Up to $80 every season to bypass ($480 total)
To buy the game and the Ringside Pass, that’s already $120 with these microtransactions alone pushing the game into $600 territory. Now, skipping a tier is entirely optional, and players will be able to unlock the characters by playing the game. The bigger problem, which has not been fully revealed, is in how it is designed. The Ringside Pass will release every seven weeks, with the first DLC character being unlocked automatically upon unlocking the season’s Ringside Pass. The others can be unlocked within the first 20 tiers, while Personas and similar content will be locked to the higher tiers, and the overall Pass never expires.
As such, it may not be as inconvenient as placing the biggest WWE superstar in the DLC/season on the very last tier, but such microtransactions typically sell convenience to inconvenience in the Battle Pass system. It remains to be seen how or if this is done, but it’s likely that skipping these tiers has something appealing about it—otherwise, no one would ever buy them.
Ringside Pass Seasonal Release System
- Ringside Pass Season 1: March 6 (Making DLC Characters available day one for the first time)
- Ringside Pass Season 2: April (Before WrestleMania 42)
- Ringside Pass Season 3: June
- Ringside Pass Season 4: July
- Ringside Pass Season 5: September
- Ringside Pass Season 6: October
At the end of the day, it’s worth repeating that these microtransactions are entirely optional. It’s still a major change-up from how 2K’s WWE games have handled DLC characters in the past, though some of these (like CM Punk) usually end up in the main roster of the next game. But such a thing being possible in a game is a big ask and reflective of the microtransaction-heavy direction many games like WWE 2K26 are constantly subjected to.