Why The XFL Could Lead To A 2K Football Game

Baseball might be called America’s Pastime, but football wears the crown. The rise of fantasy football, the actual product on the field, the competitive balance in the league, and the event of the Super Bowl are among the things that make football so popular in the United States and abroad. However, football video games have also always been a big part of the football craze.

 

The Madden series, which is owned and published by EA, has been around since 1988, with a game releasing every year since 1990. EA has faced some competition through the years, with NFL 2K being a big-time competitor in the early 2000’s; and the success of NFL 2K basically forced EA to purchase an exclusive NFL license in late 2004, because they didn’t want to deal with the competition—at least that’s the argument ardent supporters of 2K claim.

 

Every year or every other year for the last decade, it seems there are rumors of a 2K football return, but it’s never happened. In 2007, All-Pro Football 2K8 was released, and the game included legends like Barry Sanders and Jerry Rice, but there were no real NFL teams or rosters. Ultimately, the game received praise, but there was no way it could compete without the NFL license.

 

On Friday, when WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon announced the return of the XFL for the year 2020, it got people thinking. Those that were old enough at the time to remember the XFL might have gotten feelings of nostalgia, with some thinking about the times there were multiple football games available to purchase. 22-year-old Titans rookie cornerback Adoree’ Jackson might not be old enough to have vivid memories of the XFL, but he certainly remembers 2K football from back in the day (it ended in 2004).

 

Might as well make a video game too. Like a Blitz the league or NFL 2k https://t.co/cbe0trmmPS

— Adoree' Jackson (@AdoreeKnows) January 25, 2018

 

On the surface, it doesn’t appear likely 2K would develop a football game for the XFL, which is only going to have ten teams that are likely made up of players that are not close to household names. Looking deeper, there is room for optimism about a potential football game featuring the new league.

 

Vince McMahon’s XFL announcement via his company Alpha Entertainment had an introduction video, and one of the first things in the video was “gaming.” At first, gaming might seem like fantasy sports, but they also have “fantasy” flash on the screen, which appears to be a separate feature.

 

2K has the lisence and currently makes the WWE’s video game, WWE 2K. While not in the top ten of selling video games, WWE 2K is successful both critically and commercially, and they make a new version of the game every year (just like Madden). McMahon has stated the WWE and XFL are separate entities, but that doesn’t mean his relationship with 2K for his WWE video games can’t come in handy for a potential football game.

 

As stated earlier, many people are craving the return of a 2K football game. McMahon is clearly a smart business man, and he probably knows that getting a football video game released would drive hype to his actual league. With only ten teams, a franchise mode would be tough in an XFL game, but great gameplay would make the game worth a buy for many hardcore football fans that have found Madden’s unrealistic non-simulation gameplay to be a put-off.

 

It’s probably accurate to say 2K would like to have access to the NFL teams and players to create a football game, but the NFL keeps extending its exclusive license with EA, so that doesn’t seem likely any time soon. But if McMahon subsidizes 2K to create his football game, it could help everyone involved except for EA—added interest and hype for the XFL; likely high sale numbers for 2K; and pressure on Madden to create a better product, which would hopefully lead to a better game for consumers.

 

Most people would prefer the return of NFL 2K, but they’ll probably take what they can get at this point.