The game was released on October 29, 2013 in North America, October 30, 2013 in Japan, October 31, 2013 in Australia, and November 1, 2013 in both Europe and India. It is the first game in the "WWE 2K" video game series and the first "WWE" game to be released under 2K Sports since Take-Two acquired the license from THQ in a bankruptcy filing. This game, along with "NBA 2K14", were planned for Wii U releases, but were canceled. Dwayne Johnson is the cover athlete of the game.