Why is The Island not in WWE 2K25 for PC?

With WWE 2K25, developer Visual Concepts has introduced The Island, an all-new game mode where players can grind alongside friends and rivals. However, this mode is only available on current-gen consoles, i.e., the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms. In other words, the PC version of WWE 2K25 does not feature The Island.

As such, PC fans are essentially getting an inferior version of the game, and this is one of the prime complaints aimed at the latest WWE wrestling game title. So why is this, and will this change in the future?

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and speculative.

---

WWE 2K25 The Island is missing on PC due to concerns about hackers

Players can explore this sandbox in MMO style with other player avatars (Image via 2K)

In an interview about the game with WCCFTech, game producer Lynell Jinks elaborated on why The Island is skipping one of the biggest gaming platforms on the market. Here's what he had to say:

"It's one of those things where we look at, can we ensure quality on all the different SKUs and different PCs? Because this game is basically maxed to the limits."

This part of the response doesn't make any sense. This is not the first time 2K's annual sports franchises have a sandbox MMO-esque mode. NBA 2K24 did it with The City, so why is it different this time? The Island is not pushing any technical boundaries either, with its constrained map featuring little more than NPCs milling about.

What comes next sounds like a more legitimate reasoning:

"Also, could the hackers basically destroy the economy or break the game in ways to where it ruins the balancing, it ruins the progression, and now you have a really unbalanced experience given how that mode is set up."

Players can purchase a variety of cosmetics using the VC premium currency (Image via 2K)

For the uninitiated, WWE 2K25's The Island is driven by the VC economy. VC is the premium currency of the game that is purchasable via microtransactions. This mode essentially allows earning VC by completing challenges and winning matches, and the earned currency can be spent on in-game cosmetic purchases across the shops on The Island or used to upgrade the custom character.

As such, the developers are concerned about the game's online economy and general progression being upset by PC hackers who can hoard large or virtually infinite amounts of VC to rise to the top easily.

However, while the team's POV is understandable, nothing is stopping players from using cheats and trainers, as the game can be played offline as well.

What's more is that The Island's progression is a massive grindfest; the amount of 100-200 VC rewarded to players per match pales in comparison to the outrageous cosmetic prices that range as high as 18,000 VC per item. So, fans trying to find a workaround to this artificial grind is not unreasonable. That said, could The Island arrive on WWE 2K25 PC sometime in the future?

No concrete answer has been provided on that end by the studio, so for now, PC players will not be able to enjoy one of the prime modes of WWE 2K25. However, it could arrive in a future patch as the hype around the game dies down, though that is just conjecture from our end. Realistically, it is a 50/50 chance, as WWE titles are annual and, as such, usually see dwindling support as the teams prepare for the next mainline series. So, fans will have to wait and see.

---

WWE 2K25 is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.