WWE 2K24 Censors Vince McMahon

gamerant.com:

WWE 2K24 has partially censored Vince McMahon in its 40 Years of WrestleMania 2K Showcase Mode in the wake of the former chairman’s recent controversies. Earlier this year, ex-WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit accusing McMahon of sexually assaulting and trafficking her. WWE and parent company TKO have since distanced themselves from him, with McMahon stepping down from his position as executive chairman of the company and WWE no longer acknowledging him on its on-air programming.

This also put WWE 2K24 in a difficult position, as this year’s Showcase Mode celebrates 40 years of WrestleMania by highlighting some of the annual event’s most memorable match-ups – including The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin’s infamous WWE Championship bout at WrestleMania 17 that included Vince McMahon in a key role. Aside from being the former chairman of WWE, McMahon played the on-screen role of a corrupt authority figure, and, as a result, made many noteworthy appearances at the Showcase of the Immortals.

The question of how WWE 2K24 will address Vince McMahon’s involvement in some of its 40 Years of WrestleMania Showcase Mode moments has been answered with the game’s early access release this week. WWE 2K24 indeed uses footage of McMahon in Showcase Mode, but the former chairman’s face is blurred in most of the cutscenes. This isn’t an absolute though, as he is shown uncensored during the aforementioned Rock/Austin WrestleMania 17 match due to his critical role in its onscreen story.

Vince McMahon isn’t the only WWE performer being downplayed in WWE 2K24, as Brock Lesnar also found himself implicated in Janel Grant’s lawsuit, though he isn't explicitly named. Lesnar has since been removed from WWE programming as well, and was cut from the WWE SuperCard mobile game in February. Lesnar was subsequently edited out of WWE 2K24’s 40 Years of WrestleMania digital cover, and he cannot be selected as a playable character outside of Showcase Mode.

Vince McMahon’s recent lawsuits and