AEW has been a regular highlight reel of slams and elbow drops. Like any wrestling promotion it has plenty of merchandise to dip your wallet into, but what it doesn’t have? A single game to its name-brand. Fret not, AEW is getting three games soon.

For as long as WWE wrasslin’ has been an annual fixture in the video game release schedule, one developer has been at the helm of those games. Yuke’s is the name of the studio, and from the sunny shores of Osaka in Japan they’ve been pumping out WWE games at a steady clip that dates back to the early days of when THQ handled the license and through to the modern era that is currently under the stewardship of 2K Games. Well they were, until this week when the studio announced that they’d been future endeavoured.

Yukes has been the developer of these games for many many years now, and it sounds like even they’re getting fed up with the current status quo and iterative updates that they crank out every year.

It’s not perfect, but WWE 2K19 is a massive return to fun form that focuses on what truly matters inside the iconic ring and delivers a pulse-pounding thrill ride that finally feels like a showcase of the immortals.

One aspect of the 2K Games series that hasn’t changed much this year? The superb character creation tool, which is instead a tweaked and perfected version of the suite of options found in each WWE 2K game. The best part of the feature? It’s comprehensive, massive in the options available and you’re able to put your own face inside the game. If you need a crash course reminder in how to upload your face, then Bombshell Bonthuys is more than ready to school you in the fine art of uploading the perfectly punchable face in WWE 2K19.

For the first time in years, the highlight reel of Showcase mode is returning. Who will headline that main event in WWE 2K19? None other than the yes man himself, Daniel Bryan.

WWE 2K19 is pulling an ol’ Mortal Kombat this year, as it introduces Towers to the series. Basically a gauntlet of matches, Towers have their own themes and require players to hit certain milestones during their run.

The technology used by Yukes to create each WWE game is beginning to show its age. Aside from a stellar custom superstar suite of options and upgrades which certainly do favour certain superstars far more than other athletes stuck in the mid-card or lower, the Yukes engine is in desperate need of a rethink. Or better yet, it's time to find someone else to develop WWE games.