After ECW Hardcore Revolution was disappointingly received due to, among other reasons, the lack of an ECW feel (the game was criticized for being too similar to the earlier WWF Attitude release), Acclaim tried to compensate for this by adding many new match types.

There was going to be a Nintendo 64 version of this game but it was cancelled as the console was approaching the end of its life.

This was the last game that was made for ECW before it filed for bankruptcy and was purchased by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

The game featured a selection of wrestlers and other on screen personalities that were active in ECW during development.

They are a mixture of staff members in ECW and Acclaim, as well as some completely fictional personalities.

The remainder need to be unlocked through game-play, and had moves sets borrowed from characters that previously featured in ECW Hardcore Revolution and WWF Attitude.

This game featured five arenas: The career mode returned with two major differences.

The fictional Acclaim Title was removed, leaving only two championships in the single-player singles career.

They begin their careers in matches at House show events against weaker opponents.

As the player progressed, they began facing an increased caliber and number of opponents at bigger events.

However, this will not save any hidden content that has been unlocked by winning pay-per-view or championship matches.

In the single-player singles career, the player begins at the lowest rank (#15) for the ECW World Television Championship.

If the player succeeds in all five title defenses, he then moves on to the ECW World Heavyweight Championship division.

There was no save function between rounds, so one loss automatically lost the entire tournament.

Each mode could have between 0 and 3 added stipulations, depending on game difficulty, tournament selected and progress.

The rest of the default stables were either tag teams with additional members, or just a mixture of stars.

They could pick four members, a logo, theme music and a team name (maximum of 10 letters including spaces).

Instead, they composed similar-sounding themes for the characters, but they were able to secure the rights to four songs which do feature in the game: ECW Hardcore Revolution was heavily criticized for being too similar to WWF Attitude.

For example, every corner move with the word "springboard" in the name requires access to regular ring ropes.