Take-Two chief executive Strauss Zelnick has explained how he ended up as a playable character in WWE 2K26, and the answer is that he asked. Speaking to IGN after the company's most recent financial report, Zelnick said the addition was his own suggestion rather than a response to demand inside or outside the publisher.
I wish I could say that there was huge popular demand internally and externally, but that would be a lie. I asked and then I went on the soundstage and I did motion capture and we all had fun with it.
Zelnick was added quietly during WWE 2K26's third season content update in June, with a full entrance built around Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' — a licensed track exclusive to him — and an in-game rating of 77. He told IGN he pushed for it because he likes both the game and WWE, and thought it would land as an in-joke: in his words, funny for insiders and maybe fun for some consumers.
By his own account, the reception split. Zelnick said the downloadable content performed well and that a lot of people played it, while the online response amounted to a collective bemusement. He described that reaction as deserved.
The obvious follow-up, which both IGN and GameSpot put to him, was whether the same thing might happen in Take-Two's biggest release. Asked whether he would appear in Grand Theft Auto 6, Zelnick answered flatly that he would not.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is scheduled for November 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, with a detailed showing set for August 27 via Netflix, according to GameSpot. Zelnick has separately argued that the WWE 2K series has room to grow, telling IGN in an earlier interview that the franchise could reach double or triple its current size if the team keeps giving players something new that fits the brand.
