WWE 2K25: The Case for Motion Controls on Nintendo Switch 2

WWE 2K25 is poised to enter the Nintendo ecosystem at a transitional moment as Switch 2 is just on the horizon, and the original Switch never received a mainline 2K WWE title in working form. WWE 2K18, on the other hand, was a performance failure, and subsequent entries skipped the console altogether. That history leaves WWE 2K25 with a clean slate on Switch 2, and with it, the chance to define how wrestling games feel on Nintendo’s next-gen hardware.

While Sony and Microsoft prioritize raw performance, Switch 2’s biggest differentiator is expected to be immersive interaction, specifically, motion control capabilities baked into the Joy-Con successors. This makes WWE 2K25 a test case, and while 2K titles typically follow a shared design language across platforms, the Switch 2 gives developers an opportunity to add mechanical depth through immersive physical movement-based gameplay.

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By LB Beistad

The Switch 2's Motion Controls Could Add Physical Feedback to a Physical Sport

Wrestling is performative, but it’s also deeply rhythmic. Matches follow a flow of strikes, holds, counters, and finishers that reward timing and player rhythm more than button-mashing. Motion controls, therefore, would allow those rhythms to be expressed with player movement. However, swinging a Nintendo Joy-Con forward to land a strike, jerking it sideways to reverse a grapple, or pulling both upward for a finisher lift would also be an interesting avenue to execute. More importantly, motion input would add resistance and pacing changes to the gameplay.

While button prompts can be mashed without context, motion introduces tempo. Therefore, a change that would be interesting to see, if the motion controls are ever realized for Switch 2, is rushing a shoulder toss or button-spamming a reversal, where needing to move in sync with the window would add an extra dynamic to the gameplay. This would also change the flow of matches, making them feel closer to live choreography than to arcade-style spam. And unlike the original Wii-era systems, modern motion tracking is precise enough to support consistent input with adjustable thresholds.

A Separate Input Mode Can Avoid Forced Gimmicks

Ideally, though, motion controls shouldn’t override standard play. They should exist as a fully toggleable input mode, one that sits alongside button-based systems, not in place of them. There is a wide base of WWE 2K25 players who rely on tight control for reversals, chain grapples, and timing-based pin kickouts. Forcing motion into those mechanics would alienate competitive users. But offering it as a distinct control mode, like a simplified input scheme, would let players opt into immersion without compromising gameplay balance.

Why Motion Controls Should Ideally Start With WWE 2K25

The Switch 2 likely won’t get retrofitted motion updates for older third-party Switch titles. WWE 2K25 is the first opportunity in nearly a decade for 2K to return to Nintendo hardware with parity and purpose. If motion controls don’t land in this iteration, the window may not reopen for years. Plus, the control scheme players adopt early often becomes the standard for that platform’s lifecycle. This also matters because WWE 2K’s development rhythm is annual. If motion input proves viable in 2K25, it can evolve over time.

What starts as basic gesture mapping could lead to full hybrid inputs, using one Joy-Con for directional movement and the other for offensive actions, similar to boxing games or sword-based RPGs. But that ecosystem only grows if it starts now, while Switch 2 is defining what its control identity looks like for multiplatform titles. Additionally, because of Switch 2 being new and amid all those launch glitches in several games across the board, it’s a good window for the wrestling franchise to benefit from some focused grind, and without necessarily getting thrashed for it, because other titles will likely be going through the same.

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