WWE 2K22 is now official, and this year's game is coming to multiple platforms including Xbox when it is launched next month.
Now that things are confirmed, current Xbox Game Pass subscribers are wondering if WWE 2K22 will become another free perk.
Will WWE 2K22 be free on Xbox Game Pass?
WWE 2K22 is finally ready to revive a franchise that's been on life support since the failure of WWE 2K20, and it does so with an official release date of March 11, 2022.
Unfortunately, here's where we have to deliver the bad news that WWE 2K22 is not expected to be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch, unlike another upcoming sports title in MLB The Show 22.
That means players who hope to dive into the virtual squared circle at launch will have to purchase or pre order the full game, and if they choose the right edition they could play even earlier.
If you place a pre order for the WWE 2K22 Digital Deluxe Edition or WWE 2K22 nWo 4 Life Edition, you'll be able to play three days early on March 8, 2022.
When will WWE 2K22 be on Xbox Game Pass?
While you can't plan to get access to the game at launch, that doesn't necessarily mean that we'll never see WWE 2K22 arrive in the Xbox Game Pass library.
While they don't arrive with the same consistency as EA Play titles like Madden and FIFA, we have seen 2K put a sports title on the service before with NBA 2K21.
If they were to consider this with WWE 2K22, it would likely be a long-term option and something fans won't be able to take advantage of for several months.
EA tends to deliver their titles to a subscription service six months after launch, and this is often a fitting window for a franchise that consistently lands at the same time every year.
WWE 2K22 is an anomoly, as it had a significant longer development window, and we don't yet know if WWE 2K23 will arrive this fall or whether the spring release window will become their new normal.
Likely the soonest we could see WWE 2K22 on Xbox Game Pass would be September 2022, but at this point it's simply too early too know whether 2K would even consider putting the title up for grabs on that service.