Samoa Joe, like many other former WWE Superstars, is still part of the roster in WWE 2K22. The former NXT Champion was released on January 6, but he’s a playable character in the company’s newest video game, which is now available on all gaming platforms.
During an appearance on Kinda Funny Games Daily, Joe explained how his character is part of the game, though he’s not under contract with WWE anymore. He noted that due to the licensing agreement that’s part of most WWE Superstars’ contracts, the company owns the rights to the character, even in the event of a release.
“Built into most of our contracts is a licensing agreement, dependent on whether or not, like I said, I am Samoa Joe, that’s my trademark, what I own, so for me, it was a bit different than most guys because I had a license agreement,” said Joe. “And we negotiated our price based off of that. Essentially, it’s the same type of thing with guys who maybe don’t have their own name or something. When you leave there, that character is still their property, essentially.”
Co-host Greg Miller responded by expressing his desire to see a game that features all of the superstars; he pitched the idea of a Fortnite-like system that would cycle characters in and out of the game. Joe pointed out that he has seen efforts to make something similar a reality, but he admitted that it’s “a licensing nightmare.”
“I can say that there’s been efforts at various times to make that a reality, various different companies and various different games,” said Joe. “But it really is just a licensing nightmare, just trying to herd cats and track everybody down.”
The former WWE RAW star also made it clear that he’s excited that the game is getting good feedback because he knows the team worked hard on it. Plus, the developers gave him a nice in-game boost.
“I’m stoked for this game” said Joe. “I’ve got to work with the guys at 2K for a few years now and I know they wanted to make a big comeback this year and kick-ass and put out a great game. So I’m glad to hear a lot of positive feedback so far. And like I said, they gave me a golden cyborg arm and that s— touched my heart, so what more can I say?”
For now, fans can enjoy playing as Joe and many other superstars in WWE 2K22.
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