A story-driven career mode where you create a superstar and climb the ranks from the Performance Center to main eventing WrestleMania.

Choose if you want a polished, competitive simulation. It offers the thrill of playing as your favorite TV superstars with gorgeous graphics and fluid, responsive combat mechanics.

For fans who prefer managing the business over fighting in the ring, both games offer executive modes. WWE 2K22 MyGM

Wrestling Empire’s career mode is legendary for its cruelty and dark humor. Your wrestler can get fired for refusing a haircut, get sued by a rival promotion, suffer a career-ending injury mid-match, or literally pass away. WWE 2K22’s MyRISE is highly polished and features engaging storytelling, but it lacks the organic, unpredictable stakes of MDickie’s universe. Creative Freedom and Customization Wrestling games live and die by their creation suites.

The career mode in Empire is a roguelike text adventure mixed with wrestling. You get booked on shows, you have to make choices, and sometimes the game glitches out in a way that creates a legendary story you didn't expect.

is a masterclass in controlled chaos. The controls are simple, but the action is notoriously loose and unpredictable. Moves flow into one another in often hilarious ways, and the physics engine can lead to moments of brilliant comedy. While WWE 2K22 feels like a choreographed performance, Wrestling Empire feels like a real, unhinged brawl where anything can happen—and often does. You might be in the middle of a technical classic when your opponent suddenly pulls a bomb from under the ring. It's a "feature, not a bug" kind of game that many find more fun than any realistic simulation could ever be.