WWE 2K26the latest entry in the venerable WWE 2K franchise, released a new teaser that raised questions about its potential use of generative artificial intelligence. It will become the 26th record in the longest hitting streak, WWE 2K26 it comes as the franchise regains its footing after a bit of a slump. While the quality of the wrestling series had already taken a hit before 2K acquired the license from THQ in 2013, in 2019 WWE 2K20 was one of the lowest rated games of the year and quickly became notorious for its frequent technical issues and overall lack of polish.
Bad quality WWE 2K20 had an impact on 2K itself which led to cancellation WWE 2K21edition in an attempt to get the series back on track. Since release WWE 2K22the franchise is back on a solid run of quality titles, and the game's 2019 woes seem to be right in the rearview mirror. WWE 2K26 it looks set to continue this momentum with continued improvements to the game system, as well as a roster that currently includes 32 WWE stars, with more sure to be revealed before launch.
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WWE 2K26 sparks AI fears with new typo in Randy Orton's name in teaser
Official WWE 2K The Twitter page posted a four-second trailer for the WWE 2K26containing a VHS tape that misspells WWE legend Randy Orton's last name as “Ortan.” The trailer begins with a glass-shattering effect that reveals a table with several items, including a WWE microphone, a calendar with the word “draft” marked January 30, 2026, and an image of an iguana, the latter of which appears to be a reference to the rumored addition to Mr. Iguana's roster. Also on the table are five videotapes with real-time links to WWE matches, including the triple threat match between CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 41 and the Wrestlepalooza event returning in 2025 after a 25-year hiatus.
However, this new teaser has raised concerns about whether it was created using generative artificial intelligence. Apparently, one of the five videotapes mentions John Cena's fight with Randy Orton at WWE Breaking Point 2009, but Orton's name is misspelled as “Ortan” on the tape. This is the only videotape of the five that contains a glaring grammatical error, as the other four are spelled correctly even though their text is cut off in the image.
WWE 2K26A new teaser using generative artificial intelligence would be disappointing, but a typo in Randy Orton's name doesn't necessarily mean the technology was used in this ad. While generative AIs have been known to make mistakes of this type, the fact that this VHS tape is the only one in the picture with a mislabel may have been little more than a mistake. In addition to “Ortan” being a common misspelling of his name, there has also been speculation that this may be an intentional reference to how Randy Orton was tanned during his “I Quit” match with John Cena at Breaking Point 2009.
In addition, several other hallmarks of AI generative images are not listed here. Notably, all the dates written in the calendar are labeled correctly, whereas the AI image would either have the numbers out of order or replace the numbers with indecipherable symbols. WWE 2K26The misspelling of Randy Orton's name in the clip's trailer thus speaks to the growing concern raised by generative artificial intelligence, where even the smallest mistake is scrutinized.
