The WWE has for decades been the biggest wrestling promotion in the world. It had generally monopolised the market with television deals and brand deals and ensured that its content reached wrestling fans’ demographics in all areas of the world.
Another way that the WWE have consistently spread their brand globally is through gaming. A modern development is WWE-themed casino games, and video games surrounding the promotion have been in place for decades.
Sports-Themed Online Casino Gaming
Sports-themed casino games are generally available on a mainstream level, and there is no reason that the WWE could not replicate their wide presence and success. Many sports have themed slot games that have widened the audience they reach. When browsing an online casino site, you can find games like Spin & Score Megaways offering a perfect mix of football and a traditional slot game. Even fishing gets a look-in with Big Bass Bonanza and similar titles, showing it’s not just mainstream sports that can tap into this audience.
Anything can happen LIVE! Tune into a can’t miss #Smackdown on @WWEonFOX! @WWE C U TONIGHT!! pic.twitter.com/jMsGr9IiGa
— John Cena (@JohnCena) September 15, 2023
The availability of the WWE’s online casino games being expanded to a global level could allow potential newcomers to the sport to become familiar with some of the headline wrestlers, and the key events that they compete in.
Sports gaming generally offers fans a simple entertaining method of gradually becoming accustomed to all aspects of a sport. Worldwide WWE iGaming could massively diversify the demographic that the historic wrestling promotion can attract to follow its regular action.
The WWE’s video games
The WWE video games have proven to be invaluable for the sport’s ever-growing popularity across the world. The games have allowed fans an easy method by which they can become knowledgeable about the WWE’s rules, events and key stars.
The first ever WWE game was MicroLeague Wrestling. This came out in 1987 and was followed by 18 other titles prior to 2000, including WWF Superstars and WWF Raw. Before the turn of the millennium, the promotion had taken huge strides in aggressively advertising their brand to the gaming generation which was soon to explode.
The 2000s saw Playstation and Xbox begin to host a majority of the WWE’s yearly releases with much-improved graphics. The first WWF Smackdown games were released — this was a change in approach to offering multiple modes within a single title, compared to previous titles that offered limited features.
? WWE SmackDown vs Raw
(2004) pic.twitter.com/pWlciN2Ht7— 2000’s WWE (@2000s_WWE) February 15, 2022
The most significant development of the decade came in 2004 when Smackdown vs. Raw was released on Playstation 2 with online multiplayer. It’s succes meant that ever since, the vast majority of games have been released with playable online modes. This has allowed fans to truly go head-to-head on the most competitive stage with the leading wrestlers within the promotion.
The Smackdown vs. Raw series was replaced by the annual release of a series simply titled ‘WWE’ in 2012. WWE 12 and 13’s releases were then followed up by WWE 2K14, and the games have followed that format since. WWE 2K24 is set to release this year, with the graphics simulating WWE action to a remarkably realistic extent.
The gaming market is an area that the WWE delved into extremely early. They established regular video game releases before almost any other sport had managed to do so. Perhaps their more recent entry into the casino gaming market could play out in a similar way. Maybe the promotion has again identified an industry that has huge potential in the future.
