“Welcome to Suplex City” – 2K Announces Brock Lesnar® as WWE® 2K17 Cover Superstar
Four-time WWE® World Heavyweight Champion, former UFC® Heavyweight Champion and decorated NCAA Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Champion to eat, sleep, conquer and repeat as flagship WWE video game franchise ambassador
Sydney, Australia – June 28, 2016 – 2K today announced Brock Lesnar® as the cover Superstar for WWE® 2K17, the forthcoming release in the flagship WWE video game franchise. Best known for his unparalleled accomplishments in WWE®, UFC®, NCAA Division I wrestling and more, Lesnar’s work ethic, intensity and attitude have made him a prolific sports and entertainment fixture for more than 16 years. In addition, the “Unbeatable, Incumbent Mayor of Suplex City” will usher in WWE 2K17’s worldwide marketing campaign, inviting fans to explore a new side of Lesnar’s inspired world while learning more about the video game. WWE 2K17 is currently scheduled for worldwide release on October 11, 2016 for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, as well as Xbox One and Xbox 360.
“My career has been defined by dominating every opportunity presented to me,” said Brock Lesnar. “I am excited for my newest opportunity representing WWE 2K17 as the franchise’s ambassador and honored to serve as the WWE 2K17 cover Superstar.”
Coming off an impressive collegiate wrestling career for the University of Minnesota, where he became the NCAA Division I Heavyweight Champion his senior year, Lesnar made his WWE debut in 2002 and was quickly nicknamed “The Next Big Thing” by his advocate, Paul Heyman. Later that year, he became the youngest WWE World Heavyweight Champion in company history, at age 25, by defeating Dwayne “The Rock®” Johnson at SummerSlam®. Lesnar later won two additional WWE World Heavyweight Championships and had notable rivalries with WWE Superstars Undertaker®, John Cena® and Big Show®, among others. Lesnar’s first stint with WWE concluded at WrestleMania® 20 in 2004, where he was defeated by Bill Goldberg, the focus of WWE 2K17’s pre-order bonus content.
Following his WWE departure, Lesnar explored an NFL career following interest from the Minnesota Vikings. He also fought for several mixed martial arts promotions before signing a deal with UFC in 2007. Lesnar quickly became one of the organization’s biggest stars. During his time with UFC, Lesnar became UFC Heavyweight Champion; he tied a UFC record for the most consecutive successful Heavyweight Championship title defenses and headlined one of the highest-selling and most prominent pay-per-view events in UFC history.
Lesnar returned to WWE in 2012 and has made a relentless, unwavering impression since stepping foot back inside the ring. Alongside renewing old rivalries, Lesnar shocked the WWE Universe at WrestleMania 30 by defeating Undertaker and ending his legendary 21-0 WrestleMania win streak. At SummerSlam in 2014, Lesnar won his fourth WWE World Heavyweight Championship by defeating John Cena and delivering 16 of his signature German suplexes throughout the match. Suplex City then became pop-culture lexicon across WWE live events, traditional and social media, merchandise, lyrics, memes and more.
“Ladies and gentlemen, my client has truly conquered everything in his path, and unleashing Suplex City through WWE 2K17 will be no different,” said Paul Heyman. “As the advocate for Brock Lesnar, I can assure you his embodiment of unadulterated excellence, combined with a Beast’s desire to CONQUER all platforms in the gaming world, will make for a video game and supporting campaign that fans will embrace and absolutely cannot ignore this year.”
“Brock Lesnar’s unmistakable talent, no-holds-barred mentality and unequivocal determination perfectly complement 2K’s commitment to authentically represent WWE at the absolute highest level,” said Chris Snyder, Vice President of Marketing at 2K. “With Suplex City as the ultimate backdrop and the ‘Beast Incarnate’ in charge, WWE 2K17 will come to life with an incredible roster and to-be-announced features like never before.”
Developed collaboratively by Yuke’s and Visual Concepts, a 2K studio, WWE 2K17 is not yet rated in Australia and New Zealand. WWE 2K17 is currently scheduled for worldwide release on the PS4™ and PS3™ systems, Xbox One and Xbox 360 on October 11, 2016. Consumers who pre-order WWE 2K17 at any participating retailer will receive two playable characters of legendary WCW® and WWE star Bill Goldberg, as well as playable WCW Monday Nitro and Halloween Havoc arenas, at no extra cost on launch day. For more information on WWE 2K17 and 2K, visit wwe.2k.com, become a fan on Facebook, follow the game on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #WWE2K17 or subscribe on YouTube.
2K is a wholly owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).
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About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide in 25 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is currently available in more than 180 countries. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo.
Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.
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Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating to: WWE Network; major distribution agreements; our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; the possibility of a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; the highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and greater financial resources or marketplace presence of many of our competitors; uncertainties associated with international markets; our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; our dependence on our intellectual property rights, our need to protect those rights, and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events including, without limitation, claims relating to CTE; large public events as well as travel to and from such events; our feature film business; our expansion into new or complementary businesses and/or strategic investments; our computer systems and online operations; a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets; our accounts receivable; our revolving credit facility; litigation; our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance, which could adversely affect our stock; Vincent K. McMahon exercises control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; a substantial number of shares are eligible for sale by the McMahons and the sale, or the perception of possible sales, of those shares could lower our stock price; and the relatively small public “float” of our Class A common stock. In addition, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made and are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them. Undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of the Company’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
About Take-Two Interactive Software
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment for consumers around the globe. The Company develops and publishes products through its two wholly-owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K. Our products are designed for console systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, and are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services. The Company’s common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at www.take2games.com.
About 2K
Founded in 2005, 2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment globally for console systems, handheld gaming systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, which are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services. 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres, including shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, sports, casual, and family entertainment. The 2K label has some of the most talented development studios in the world today, including Firaxis Games, Visual Concepts, Hangar 13, Cat Daddy Games and 2K China. 2K’s stable of high quality titles includes the critically acclaimed BioShock®, Borderlands™, and XCOM® franchises, the beloved Sid Meier’s Civilization series, the innovative Evolve™, the genre-fusing hero-shooter Battleborn®, the popular WWE 2K franchise and NBA 2K, the #1 rated and #1 selling basketball franchise**. 2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). For more information, please visit www.2k.com.
*According to 2008 – 2016 Metacritic.com and The NPD Group estimates of U.S. retail video game sales through May 2016.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained herein which are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws and may be identified by words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “seeks,” “will,” or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook for the Company’s future business and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to them, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may vary materially from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of risks and uncertainties including: our dependence on key management and product development personnel, our dependence on our Grand Theft Auto products and our ability to develop other hit titles, the timely release and significant market acceptance of our games, the ability to maintain acceptable pricing levels on our games, and risks associated with international operations. Other important factors and information are contained in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, including the risks summarized in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and the Company’s other periodic filings with the SEC, which can be accessed at www.take2games.com. All forward-looking statements are qualified by these cautionary statements and apply only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
