Why are WWE 2K24 Steam reviews negative at launch?

Though critically acclaimed, WWE 2K24 is receiving massively negative Steam reviews at launch. In some game cases, it’s a variety of things that cause a negative backlash. In this case, there’s one concrete reason that’s making people frustrated, i.e., people who received early access to the game via the Deluxe and 40 Years of WrestleMania editions.

Unfortunately, the reason WWE 2K24 is receiving negative reviews on Steam at launch is not something that the developers can turn back. They will just have to deal with the backlash and hope that the quality of the game will change future purchaser’s minds.

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What caused WWE 2K24 to receive negative Steam reviews

Many players complained about the same thing: lost save data. (Image via Steam)

There are currently 192 reviews for WWE 2K24 on Steam, most of which are negative. There were some minor complaints about items clipping through custom characters. However, that’s not the major problem. It’s one that cannot be fixed, as it’s far too late. Unless there are server backups of everyone’s save data, there’s nothing that can be done.

Nearly all the negative Steam reviews involve the early access servers. Anyone who had early access could play three days early, but everyone who complained on Steam stated their save data was deleted on launch. One user stated they had 35 hours - more than anyone else on Steamladder and lost everything.

The complaints have flooded in since the initial launch earlier today. (Image via 2K Games)

Others complained about losing all of their Showcase Mode unlocks, which require you to play the entire Showcase Mode in WWE 2K24 and every match in it. Owners of the 40 Years of WrestleMania edition should automatically unlock these again, but it doesn’t change all the other lost save data.

There were other issues reported, though. One Steam user stated that they played for 20+ hours, but since the worldwide release, they cannot play without overwriting their data. This was due to the Deluxe Edition Pack and Nightmare Family Pack being unavailable on the Steam store.

Similar issues occurred for other users, who said they keep getting a message to re-download their DLC anytime they turn the game on. This particular Steam user opted not to out of fear of losing their save data like everyone else. What’s troubling about this is in order to get early access, these gamers had to spend a minimum of $99 just to get the WWE 2K24 Deluxe Edition.

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There has been no word from the 2K Games developers at this point on what can be done. The Early Access save data is the overwhelming reason for the negative Steam reviews of WWE 2K24. If this was always the plan, the developers should have clarified that, but if it’s a bug, it’s one that has crushed the feelings of many fans.