WWE 2K16 is an ambitious game. The title attempts a lot of fixes in an attempt to ensure people pick up the latest yearly installment in the series. It has tons of gameplay modes, over one hundred characters, customization options for original avatars, arenas, and shows, and a day one patch that fixed more than a few issues before they could be a problem for any player. The problem is how this installment handles Divas.
Divas are the female athletes performing in the WWE. They train as hard as the male athletes and have just as dedicated followings. People support them and enjoy playing as the characters in the game. It isn’t just about looking pretty. The characters are important and WWE 2K16 doesn’t give them their due.
It starts with some rather notable exclusions. A number of Divas from WWE NXT were omitted from the roster despite being active, loved, and even NXT Women’s Championship contenders. Bayley is the omitted champion in question, and Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and Sasha Banks are also not in the game. 2K Sports’ only response was that there were ” various reasons ” the women didn’t make it in, but it’s an indicator of another problem. Despite having over 120 characters in WWE 2K16 , only 13 of them are Divas.
There is a Create a Diva option, allowing people to make their own female fighters in WWE 2K16 . This is great and even allows people to attempt to replicate the missing Divas. However, there’s another issue. Divas don’t really have that much to do. Yes, there are one shot matches in the standard game mode, as well as opportunities to watch or participate in 2K Universe fights, but the women don’t get their own storyline.
The WWE is a male-dominated industry. This isn’t news, but it would have been nice for Divas to have their own MyCareer mode too. After all, the mechanics and tutorials are the same. Divas on the shows have their own championships. They can be faces or heels. It wouldn’t have been too difficult to make MyCareer compatible for avatars of both genders, and all players in general would likely have appreciated the opportunity.
I suppose the only positive is that it offers a future feature for WWE 2K17 . Perhaps 2K Sports will see the demand for the Divas who didn’t make it in, the proliferation of custom Divas shared by players, and work people put into the game, realize people want those characters to have an expanded role, and perhaps address the issue next year.