[9] Hulk Hogan was announced as being part of the game, but was cut late in development due to the release of controversial racial statements he had made previously.

The commentary team has been expanded to three members, with John "Bradshaw" Layfield joining the returning Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler.

[13] In the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, which follows the same gameplay blueprint from WWE 2K14, only Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are present for commentary outside of Showcase mode.

[14] The 2K Showcase mode also returns, with the showcase detailing the career of the cover star "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, from his King of the Ring 1996 matchup against Jake Roberts in the final match of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, to his WrestleMania XIX matchup against The Rock.

[15][16] A second showcase becomes available only with purchase of the 'Hall of Fame' DLC pack, a collection of classic matches featuring each of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2015 entrants (excluding Celebrity Wing recipient, Arnold Schwarzenegger) in order, from Randy Savage VS. Jake Roberts at This Tuesday in Texas to The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) VS. Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) at WCW Halloween Havoc 1996, including a fictional match between Alundra Blaze VS. Paige at the WrestleMania 31 arena.

Exclusive to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows versions, MyCareer returns from 2K15, with 2K claiming the mode will be significantly expanded from last year's game.

[21] On July 6, 2015, "Stone Cold Steve Austin was announced as the cover superstar for this year's game,[22] accompanying by the debut trailer, which features Austin digging up at the desert, uncovering his customized "Smoking Skull" championship belt and putting it over his shoulder, before turning his head, just to stare down and at the camera.

[23] On the same day, the second trailer featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Daniel Bryan, Eva Marie, Paige, Finn Bálor and Dean Ambrose was released to promote the inclusion of the Terminator character in the game.

[23] 2K then released the first official screenshot of the game, the Raw announce table with John "Bradshaw" Layfield's cowboy hat sitting on it.

[26] The demo for the game was playable at selected Walmart locations across the United States as part of the "WWE 2K16 Early Access Tour".

The third live-action trailer, titled "Bonfire" was released starring Austin, Sting, Seth Rollins, Rusev, Paige, Kane and Ambrose on October 20, 2015.

[31] The season pass includes the Legends Pack (featuring these playable characters such as Big Boss Man, Dusty Rhodes, Lita, Mr.

[32][33][34] Eurogamer called it "best wrestling game in years", praising the gameplay changes and deep roster, while noting long load times.