WWE 2K24 countdown: Exact start time and release date

Deluxe Edition owners get to play early.

Cover art for WWE 2K24's 40 Years of Wrestlemania edition.
Image via 2K Games

2K and Visual Concepts are dropping their next annual wrestling game, WWE 2K24, very soon, and the most eager of fans will want to know exactly when they can start playing it.

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This year’s WWE game is all about WrestleMania, with its main Showcase mode celebrating the event’s 40-year-long history by letting you partake in and recreate the most famous WrestleMania matches. Playable wrestlers will include the usual faces, such as the Undertaker and John Cena, as well as special guest stars like legendary heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali and, bizarrely, rapper Post Malone. The jury’s still out on whether Brock Lesnar will still feature following his removal from the cover of WWE 2K24‘s Forty Years of WrestleMania Edition.

When does WWE 2K24 release?

Muhammed Ali shown in a teaser for WWE 2K24.
At last, we can see Muhammad Ali beat up Post Malone. Screenshot via 2K Games on YouTube

WWE 2K24 actually has two release dates since those who purchase the Deluxe Edition will be able to start playing a few days early. As such, we’ve listed two countdowns below. If you only care about acquiring the base game, it’ll become available on Friday, March 8. While it is the cheapest option at $69.99 ($59.99 if you buy it for last-gen consoles), pre-orders still come with a digital copy of WWE 2K23 (which you can start playing immediately) and the Nightmare Family pack, which consists of some extra playable wrestlers.

The countdown below is set for midnight CT, as WWE 2K24 is set for a staggered global release at 12 pm in each time zone.

When does WWE 2K24 Deluxe Edition release?

If you’re thinking of buying or have pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition, it’ll arrive three days in advance on Tuesday, March 5. Again, the countdown below is set for midnight CT.

This date applies to both digital and physical copies, although the physical Deluxe Edition will only release in select territories:

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • New Zealand
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

For everywhere else, the physical Deluxe Edition will launch the same day as the standard edition on March 8. So, you’ll need to refer to the first countdown in this article if that applies to you.

Author
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Michael Beckwith
Staff writer at Dot Esports covering all kinds of gaming news. A graduate in Computer Games Design and Creative Writing from Brunel University who's been writing about games since 2014. Nintendo fan and Sonic the Hedgehog apologist. Knows a worrying amount of Kingdom Hearts lore. Has previously written for Metro, TechRadar, and Game Rant.