One of the best features in any WWE 2K game is the character creator. Each year, we head into Create a Wrestler to make our own heroes and heroines. Maybe they’re wrestlers who weren’t added to the roster this year. Perhaps they’re our own avatars, allowing us to live out our wrestling dreams. Maybe we just want to be silly. What’s even better is the ability to upload them and share these characters with the world. Except, of course, when 2K decides to issue ridiculous bans and censor characters that aren’t even offensive.
People have taken to the 2K forums to report wrestlers being removed and accounts being banned for making characters that shouldn’t have been removed. As shared by Power Up Gaming and a user named Trips, original Create a Wrestler characters are being banned for absolutely no good reason. A Kasi Cage that was, quite honestly, modestly dressed and an original heroine who supposedly had a “high level of butt cheek exposure” were removed. 2K representatives came to the forum to address the issue, said that they talked to support and people could contact them to reverse the bans, but it shouldn’t have gotten that far. These characters shouldn’t have been removed and their creators penalized.
In both of these WWE 2K17 Create a Wrestler examples, we see female characters who are wearing outfits you’d absolutely see at a WWE event. Yes, the original heroine may have a thong on. However, there is some fishnet for modesty purposes and nothing offensive is being seen. After all, this is using in-game materials. That’s a bottom option within the game. If 2K didn’t like it, it should have been removed during the development process. Someone shouldn’t have been punished for using assets WWE 2K17 made available.
As for the Kasi Cage Create a Wrestler, there’s no reason she should have been pulled. The only thing I can think of is that she, perhaps, looked too much like Cassie Cage. That’s the Mortal Kombat heroine and daughter of Johnny Cage. She’s wearing an appropriate outfit, one available within the realm of the game. Everything possibly sensitive is covered. It’s another instance where someone used the tools 2K offered and was punished for it.
This isn’t even the first time 2K has instituted ridiculous censorship in the WWE 2K series. Hulk Hogan wasn’t in WWE 2K16 . Understandable, since a lot of wrestlers didn’t make it in. That’s what Create a Wrestler is for, right? Except, people were being banned for making custom Hulk Hogans and sharing them for others to enjoy. Said bans were overturned, but this new wave of bans shows that 2K didn’t learn its lesson.
The big issue is, we’re in a generation of gaming where if a developer and publisher don’t want something created in a game, they have means of preventing it. There are all kinds of locks and blocks within creators to ensure things that are truly offensive can’t be created. Or, if they can be created, they can’t be uploaded and shared. Instead of banning people for things in WWE 2K17 that aren’t even distasteful, they should go ahead and put more guidelines in during development so such incidents can’t happen.
In short, the most recent wave of WWE 2K17 Create a Wrestler bans are ridiculous. Some female wrestling superstars wear similar outfits in real life. The characters people created were fully clothed and, honestly, more covered up than women in other shows or games. Instead of attempting to censor people with bans and removals for using the assets provided, 2K should put limits in the editor.