WWE 13

WWE '13 is an upcoming professional wrestling video game being developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 systems. It will be the second game in the WWE series and the fifteenth overall in the combined series. It is the sequel to WWE '12, and will be released on October 30, 2012 in North America and November 2, 2012 in United Kingdom.

The game focuses on the Attitude Era of the WWE, replacing it's Road to Wrestlemania Mode with an Attitude Era Mode where the player plays through the Attitude Era. The game gives such characters as Stone Cold Steve Austin and elements as the Monday Night Wars a more important role in the game than in any previous WWE game. The Attitude Era Mode has been described as being akin to and the WWE series' equivalent to NBA 2K11's Jordan Challenge mode.

Gameplay

WWE '13 will run on the game engine called, "Predator Technology 2.0," which succeeds the first version from WWE '12. The Predator Technology 2.0 game engine has been updated from the previous WWE game to feature "OMG! Moments," which is new to this game. This feature allows players to perform ring breaks, barricade breaks, announce table breaks, and catching (mid-air) finishers. WWE '13 will also feature WWE Universe 3.0, which was also further updated to allow the player to edit schedules, television shows, rosters, as well as creating alliances or feuds between several wrestlers. Also, six Divas being able to compete simultaneously in the ring will make a comeback, after years of it not being included in the WWE series.

Attitude Era Mode

New to the series and replacing the Road to Wrestlemania Mode is the game's Attitude Era Mode, which acts as a season mode of sorts for the game. Former wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin has been described to be a focal point of the Attitude Era Mode, but not the only playable character due to the mode covering a timeline instead of a single player like the Road to Wrestlemania did. Other elements of the Attitude Era such as the Monday Night Wars in which the WWE competed for ratings against World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling. WCW, despite being responsible for the Attitude Era, will only receive a few mentions and nods in the game, due to the game focusing on the Wars through the point of view of the WWE and the characters that made the Attitude Era a success. The mode is set to begin with what is called THQ's opinion on what started the Attitude Era.

Playing through the Attitude Era Mode gives players the chance to receive over 20 exclusive video packages detailing the Attitude Era. Entrances, arenas and television graphics from the Attitude Era have all been recreated and are put in sync with over 60 cutscenes which are to detail the Attitude Era. To further make the mode seem more akin to the actual Attitude Era, the game features 35 of the top superstars who were present in the WWE during the Attitude Era. In addition to this, playing through the mode and its bonus options allows the players to unlock over 100 unlockable items, ranging from video packages to photo galleries. Commentary from the Attitude Era, which featured Jerry Lawler alongside Jim Ross, too will be present, with the Attitude Era Mode being the only mode in the entire game to feature Ross' commentary, though Lawler is present in Exhibition and Universe modes alongside Michael Cole.

Featuring about 60 matches spread out over a 2 year season, the Attitude Era Mode does not, unlike previous WWE Season Modes, confine the player to using any single superstar, but will instead have the player switch between characters as rivalries and storylines culminate. The matches in the 2 years will happen in the same order as they happened during the Monday Night Wars. Although the matches in the game must progress with the same result as they did in the actual venue, to differentiate from the Road to Wrestlemania mode, the player has been given more freedom, with the addition of historic objectives. The historic objectives were created to stay faithful to the actual Attitude Era, they are shown on a checklist and include moments in the actual WWE regarded historic. The objectives are not mandatory to complete the match, but completing them allows players to gain unlockables.

Development and release

On May 28, 2012, on WWE Raw, during a segment featuring John Laurinaitis and CM Punk, Laurinaitis revealed the release date of the game would be October 30, 2012, while Punk revealed the official cover art for WWE '13. Then two days later on an article at the WWE Games website revealed the first batch of Superstars to be featured in the game including Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Chris Jericho, Mark Henry (as the current superstar & in his Attitude Era gimmick), Mick Foley (in his Mankind, Dude Love, and Cactus Jack personas), CM Punk, Big Show, The Undertaker, John Cena and The Miz. On June 19, THQ then confirmed that Mike Tyson will be available in the pre-orders of WWE '13. The full roster was revealed at Summerslam Axxess.

On July 16, 2012, THQ announced that there would be an "Austin 3:16" Collector's Edition of WWE '13, which is only available by pre-order for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America. Also, pre-orders for the PlayStation 3 in North America will include Disc 3 of "Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time." In contrast, pre-orders for the Xbox 360 in North America will include Disc 4, as well as for pre-orders for both systems in Europe and Australia.

Trailer