Graphics in sports video games are always a hotly contested topic before a new one launches. Many players in the respective communities like to compare the new game graphics to the old game graphics to see what improvements, if any, the developers made. Naturally, most fans would trade slightly improved graphics for better gameplay and new features, but seeing nicer-looking character models, more detailed arenas, and clearer animations is always a plus.
Recently, 2K released dozens of new screenshots for WWE 2K26, as the developer always does before a new title in the series launches. However, without going back to WWE 2K25 yourself and wading through all those pre-release screenshots, how can you tell how much the graphics have improved? Well, instead of doing all the hard work yourself, just take a look below to see the full graphics comparison between WWE 2K26 and 2K25.
How Much Have The Graphics Improved In WWE 2K26?
We took a look at all 50+ screenshots that have been released so far for WWE 2K26 and directly compared them to similar screenshots from WWE 2K25. To be as fair as possible, we only looked at screenshots that were released before the launch of 2K25, as sometimes graphics can slightly change in the full game. A video by LegendGames2K was also very helpful, and we’ll be posting some of their direct comparison screenshots further down in the article.
In short, 2K hasn’t reinvented the wheel in the graphics department for 2K26. If you look at both sets of screenshots, you’ll notice that 2K26‘s shots do look a little clearer than those from 2K25. We can also see more digital vibrance in the new game screenshots, as 2K25 tends to look a little bland in terms of overall color. Hardcore WWE fans will likely know the common loop of the series, going back and forth with how much color each game has, and it just so happens that 2K26 is a year with more vibrance.
One clear improvement, however, is with the hair of the wrestlers. In many comparative screenshots, 2K26‘s hair textures are much crisper and look more realistic than the hair textures from the last game. Also, if a wrestler has some kind of highlight in their, the color of that highlight pops more than it does in 2K25, which goes back to overall vibrancy improvements.
We also see slightly better lighting from the 2K26 screenshots. However, it’s difficult to count this as a positive just yet, as developers can change the lighting for the purpose of a screenshot. If we’re just going by the screenshots, though, the lighting looks slightly brighter, which helps bring out the color of the shots.
In terms of arenas, people in the stands, and everything outside of the wrestlers themselves, the graphics in 2K26 largely look the same as they do in 2K25. The fans, especially the ones closer to the ring, look just as detailed as they do in 2K25 and the arenas/rings seem to have more color to them, but nothing that jumps out at you right away by looking at a screenshot.
Overall, if you played WWE 2K25, you likely won’t notice a major jump in the graphics department in 2K26. However, PC players might be able to crank the graphics and make the game look better than the current game. Also, all players can adjust their monitor/TV settings to increase vibrancy, contrast, and other color settings.
Out of the box, though, WWE 2K26 will look fairly similar to its predecessor. In all likelihood, we won’t see any major graphical improvements for the rest of this console generation’s lifecycle. With the WWE series looking very similar for a few years in a row, the developers have seemingly reached the graphical limit for the current hardware. Of course, we don’t know anything for sure, so maybe 2K27 next year makes a major leap forward. But for now, expect a very similar-looking game when 2K26 launches in March.
