If you’ve ever wanted to fight a games industry CEO, now you can. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick is now a playable character in WWE 2K26, meaning you can either play as him or fight him yourself. There hasn’t been any kind of official acknowledgement of his inclusion; he was simply quietly added in a new update today. The 68-year-old gaming executive holds an in-game rating of 77, meaning he’s probably not going to claim any titles himself, but Zelnick is reportedly very fit in real life.
The CEO claims he works out 10 to 12 times a week (that’s an average of almost twice a day, for those who aren’t mathmaticians) and runs his own private workout club known as The Program. He’s even written his own wellness book, Becoming Ageless: The Four Secrets To Looking and Feeling Younger Than Ever. All of this is to say he’s pretty jacked, even though he’s almost 70, and could probably fare better in a WWE ring than the average person.
Why did Zelnick get added into WWE 2K26? It’s anyone’s guess. He himself has admitted he isn’t even a gamer, so it feels unlikely to be because he wants to play as himself. He seems like a decent sport, though, as he previously promoted the franchise’s custom character creator with a silly video. However, this is the first time he’s been added as an official character. He even sports his own exclusive entrance music in WWE 2K26, which is My Way by Frank Sinatra. The song was licensed seemingly just for Zelnick, as it can’t be used for any other character in the game.
Take-Two Interactive owns Rockstar Games, 2K, and a number of other major studios, so Zelnick has overseen some of the biggest games of all-time. He is best known for being the only reputable source of information about GTA 6 outside of Rockstar Games itself. The hype for GTA 6 has led to many tuning into investor calls and listening to business-heavy interviews just so fans can hear Zelnick drop a few breadcrumbs here and there.
Zelnick also recently emphasized the opportunity to grow the WWE 2K franchise, noting that it could “double or triple” the size that it is now.
“I do think there’s ongoing opportunities to improve the quality of the game,” he said. “I do think that we can give consumers more of what they want. And I know our team at Visual Concepts always wants to do better. We’re never in the business of patting ourselves on the back. We believe that arrogance is the enemy of continued success. And I think that title could be double or triple the size that it is as long as we delight consumers, and as long as we give them something new and not expected that’s consistent with the brand that they love. That’s our job.”
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
