The WWE 2K video game franchise is undeniably one of the most prolific series in the modern gaming industry. Since its debut in 2000, the series has been a mainstay of the wrestling scene, and it’s undergone several changes since it launched. These days, the franchise goes by the moniker WWE 2K, but it debuted as WWF Smackdown! The naming conventions of the series changed several times even before 2011’s WWE ‘12, which Yuke released for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. This was the first of only two games to bear the simple WWE naming convention because the modern format debuted with WWE 2K14 in 2013.
WWE ‘12 Premise
Like earlier games in the franchise, WWE ‘12 is a sports game designed to simulate the action that takes place in the wrestling ring. The title offers a substantial roster of playable wrestling legends, and in true WWE tradition, you can also build your own wrestler to take on the greats. There are a variety of game modes to take part in, such as Road to Wrestlemania, a three-act story mode, and WWE Universe, which allows you to take part in pre-booked matches and storylines.
WWE ‘12 Main Characters
WWE ‘12 follows the WWE 2K tradition of offering a significantly large roster of wrestlers for fans to play as. Since the title is primarily a sports simulation game, there aren’t many wrestlers who could be considered main characters in the game. The exception is Jacob Cass, a wrestler created specifically for the Road to Wrestlemania. Once the player gets to act 3, they follow his story. WWE ‘12 is the last game in the series to feature this story mode, so Jacob Cass is something of a swan song for the franchise’s dedicated stories. Outside of the Road to Wrestlemania, here’s the full list of wrestlers in-game, as well as DLC:
- Alberto Del Rio
- Alex Riley
- Big Show
- CM Punk
- David Otunga
- Dolph Ziggler
- Drew McIntyre
- Evan Bourne
- Ezekiel Jackson
- Huskey Harris
- Jack Swagger
- John Cena
- John Morrison
- Kofi Kingston
- Mason Ryan
- Michael McGillicutty
- The Miz
- Rey Mysterio
- R-Truth
- Santino Marella
- Triple H
- Vladimir Kozlov
- Zack Ryder
- Eve
- Kelly Kelly
- Maryse
- Chavo Guerrero
- Christian
- Cody Rhodes
- Daniel Bryan
- Goldust
- Heath Slater
- Justin Gabriel
- Kane
- Randy Orton
- Sheamus
- Sin Cara
- Ted DiBiase Jr.
- Tyson Kidd
- Undertaker
- Wade Barrett
- William Regal
- Yoshi Tatsu
- Layla Michelle McCool
- Natalya
- Animal
- Arn Anderson
- Ax-Demolition
- Booker T
- Brock Lesnar
- Eddie Guerrero
- Edge
- Hawk
- Kevin Nash
- Mr. McMahon
- Ricky Steamboat
- Smash-Demolition
- Stone Cold Steve Austin
- Vader
- Alicia Fox (Added as free DLC)
- Batista (Added in DLC 3: Legends Pack)
- Brie Bella (Added in DLC 2: Divas Pack)
- Brodus Clay (Added as free DLC)
- Jerry Lawler (Added in DLC 1: WrestleMania Pack)
- Jim Ross (Added in DLC 1: WrestleMania Pack)
- Kharma (Added in DLC 2: Divas Pack)
- Michael Cole (Added in DLC 1: WrestleMania Pack)
- Mick Foley (Added in DLC 3: Legends Pack)
- Nikki Bella (Added in DLC 2: Divas Pack)
- Randy Savage (Added in DLC 3: Legends Pack)
- The Rock (Exclusive pre-order bonus, later added to the WWE Shop)
- Shawn Michaels (Added in DLC 1: WrestleMania Pack)
- Trish Stratus (Added in DLC 2: Divas Pack)
- Vikki Guerrero (Added in DLC 2: Divas Pack)
WWE ‘12 Titles In The Series
In the same fashion as the other mainstream sports simulation titles on the market, the WWE 2K franchise has a lot of entries under its belt. For most of its history, the series maintained a particularly controversial schedule of yearly releases. This schedule undeniably drew ire from fans, who accused certain entries of not iterating enough to justify an entire new release. This controversy culminated in WWE 2K20, which received such a negative reaction that publisher 2K aborted the yearly release schedule, thus putting the series on a two-year hiatus. Here is a full list of games that have launched under the WWE name since the franchise debuted.
- WWF SmackDown! (2000)
- WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role (2000)
- WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It (2001)
- WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth (2002)
- WWE SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain (2003)
- WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw (2004)
- WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2006 (2005)
- WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2007 (2006)
- WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2008 (2007)
- WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2009 (2008)
- WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2010 (2009)
- WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2011 (2010)
- WWE ‘12 (2011)
- WWE ‘13 (2012)
- WWE 2K14 (2013)
- WWE 2K15 (2014)
- WWE 2K16 (2015)
- WWE 2K17 (2016)
- WWE 2K18 (2017)
- WWE 2K19 (2018)
- WWE 2K20 (2019)
- WWE 2K Battlegrounds (2020)
- WWE 2K22 (2022)
- WWE 2K23 (2023)
WWE ‘12 Cheat Codes
Unfortunately, while WWE ‘12 has a designated cheat codes section in the menu, there aren’t many that are known to actually work in the game. Since WWE ‘12 hosted online play, it’s understandable that the developers wouldn’t want to imbalance the multiplayer environment too much with outlandish cheat codes. With this in mind, there are two cheat codes you can enter in WWE ‘12 that will help you get a head start on your wrestling journey. To enter them, just find the ‘Cheat Codes’ selection in the Options menu, which itself can be found under ‘My WWE.’ Please note that these codes are case-sensitive.
- aPr170o7S: This code will unlock the Casket Match.
- OhHellYeah!: This code will unlock the WWE Attitude Era Heavyweight Championship.
WWE ‘12 Cheat Code FAQs
How do you unlock Brock Lesnar in WWE ‘12? Brock Lesnar is a particularly formidable wrestler. Having won championships in both the WWE and the UFC, Lesnar currently stands as the most decorated combat sports athlete of all time. He also has a reputation as one of the most prolific athletes of all time. In order to unlock this legendary powerhouse in your own copy of WWE ‘12, you just need to win a one-on-one match in WWE Universe mode.
How long does it take to beat WWE ‘12? Since WWE ‘12 is mostly just a freeform sports simulation game, you could potentially spend an unlimited amount of time playing different matchups. If you just focus on the game’s main story mode, however, WWE ‘12 will likely take you around 12 hours to beat. A completionist could expect to spend closer to 25 hours, and of course, a group of friends who love wrestling might spend hundreds of hours in WWE ‘12’s virtual ring.