The Island in WWE 2K25: One of Irrelevancy

What is The Island in WWE 2k25, Anyway?

The Island is “The City” or the “The Yard” from the NBA and Madden franchises. These PvP or PvE modes have become incredibly popular in the sports simulator genre. They are often connected to the career or superstar story mode. The Island is separate from MyRise, but that is the only real difference between the modes.

You can compete against other players or do the quests against multiple AI opponents. The story is simple and reasonably disconnected from the purpose of the mode. You run through the Island to prove yourself worthy of The Tribal Chief and earn his favor to obtain a WWE contract.

Roman Reign’s resort is creatively interesting. Outside the central plaza, there are four unique and visually appealing biomes: Undertaker’s Deadlands, Cody Rhodes’ Hero HQ, Asuka’s Arcade of Tomorrow, and The Bloodline’s Hall of the Ancestors. Unlike comparable modes in other sports games, WWE uses its rich history of vibrant characters.

The aesthetics keep the reasonably small map engaging for a few hours of intensive play. If WWE ever decided to make a theme park in Florida near the performance center, this would be the blueprint for it. As a Game mode, though, it is totally skippable despite the hype.  

Currency and Costumes are King on The Island WWE 2k25

Although still a work in progress, the PvE quests are of tertiary importance at best. The PvP is the main draw for the mode, followed closely by microtransactions and new cosmetic changes. The WWE Universe has had some experience with this gaming craze, paying real cash or grinding for days for chiefly cosmetic perks.

The MyFaction roster card management mode has been a staple since 2k rebranded the franchise in 2022. It returns to this year’s title. However, it has not had anything approaching a spotlight since that first appearance, which still paled in comparison to The Island.

The WWE fans have never had to, and may not be willing to, spend their actual money or grind for hours on Nike apparel and specific haircuts in the creator suite. Furthermore, creation has always been one of the most in-depth and interesting parts of the game. Even with a quarter of the gear locked for Island reasons, it still takes hours to make a perfect Create-a-wrestler.

Putting the skins that fans would enjoy behind a wall is a risk, especially since the Nike and Fanatics shops in the plaza on the Island are probably not going to be anyone’s most frequently visited locale.

In an attempt to maximize profits as it does in similar games, The Island development team may well have miscalculated what the WWE brand is, or perhaps that brand is looking for a change.

Repetition Can Only go for so Long

Exploring the characters on the Island and seeing the thoughtful and creative offerings that compose each of the wrestler-centric areas is interesting. There are also plenty of funny bits calling back to WWE’s history, like a headstone in the Deadlands graveyard for Al Snow’s dog Pepper or a computer repair shop named Damage CTRL by the Arcade of Tomorrow.

The gameplay itself, though, is the same each time. You get a task; you have a match and win, and you get a condescending or impressed message from one or both of Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns and repeat it.

Other superstars come in to shake up casting, but not much else changes throughout the part of the mode that is not online.

It may seem unfair to call something repetitive when you have not completed its main “story.” Even with that perception, the Island’s repetitiveness is confidently one of its worst attributes. The mode only has four biomes with different match types, aesthetics, and a cast of characters reaching out or coming up to you in the streets.

The premise of My Island is strong, but its execution is a repetitive two-star matchmaker. The NPCs are amusing, and the players’ styles make for good people-watching. Overall, though, it doesn’t live up to what it could be. It works well as another repository for paid customization, but that is not what it was destined to be.

The Island WWE 2k25 Re-imagined

Years ago, there was talk of an open-world player mode in the WWE franchise. This is what came of that. Instead of following the same old format as every other 2K sports title, WWE had the chance to use the creativity shown physically on The Island WWE 2k25 or in the MyRise game mode.

The Bloodline will (hopefully) be past its prime, meaning The Island won’t be around for WWE 2k26. There will always be an incentive to make a profit, but WWE and 2k can change the narrative about what these modes are in gaming. 

Imagine a similar mode where you, with full customization options, are a contestant in WWE’s Legends and Future Greats reality series. You can go into a nearby town and, of course, complete odd jobs as part of the TV show at the behest of Booker T and The Undertaker. Additionally, you can run “underground” matches at a fight club against friends after hours.

You could physically train for additional XP points at a local gym. To earn money outside of matches, you may even have odd jobs as a bouncer to earn VC. More freedom and more story are what will make the mode work next year, not more gear.