One of the big ways WWE 2K26 stood apart from it’s predecessors was how post-launch contents would be rolled out for the game and unlike the standalone DLC packs that you could either buy separately or together via the season pass, the latest entry in the long running series uses a Ringside Pass system that allows multiple tiers of unlockable contents.
But after receiving sharp criticisms from both players and fans alike, 2K has made some fundamental level changes to the system after the release of the latest patch. So if you’re playing WWE 2K26 and have installed the newest patch, you’ll see the new changes immediately.
The biggest issue with the Ringside Pass system is that unlike the DLC packs which offered instant unlocks, here you can only unlock the new contents after dozens of hours of playtime which is required to get all the tiers of unlockables. This made the entire system quite a bit of time-sink as you’d need to play through a lot just to get access to what you’ve already purchased with real world money. However, 2K has announced that from patch 1.07 and Season 2 onward, players will be able to unlock all four characters in the premium category instantly right in tier 1.
Also, the amount of in-game XP needed to progress through each tier has been reduced from 800 to 625, and according to 2K, that number won’t be increased ever again.
And if you have logged into WWE 2K26 before April 14, you’ll receive 20 tiers worth of free XP which will allow you to unlock all of Season 1’s AAA superstars such as El Hijo Del Vikingo, Flammer, Mr. Iguana, and Psycho Clown.
WWE 2K26 came out on March 13 for all platforms and was met with mostly positive reviews from critics and players alike for it’s new additions over last year’s title. It’s got a rating of 7 from IGN, 8 from Gamespot and 3.5 out of 5 from GamesRadar+ among other review sites which indicate the game to be a worthwhile entry in the popular wrestling game franchise.
