In an interview published this morning by ESPN, 2K Sports and World Wrestling Entertainment discussed their exclusive, five-year contract arising from THQ's bankruptcy and dissolution, and said the next WWE professional wrestling simulation should launch during its traditional fall release window this year.
[Update] ESPN's report at 9 a.m. said "Coming this fall: WWE 2K14." A news release issued by Take-Two at noon said the game would be called WWE '14. This post has been amended to reflect that disparity. ESPN said it stands behind its report that the official name of the product is or will eventually be WWE 2K14.
WWE '14 will continue to use Yuke's, of Osaka, Japan, the series' longtime developer, to build the game. Visual Concepts, 2K Sports' in-house studio, will also contribute to the effort, supervising the former THQ Fight Team employees that are being brought aboard to continue the title's development.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. WWE executive Casey Collins said THQ and the WWE held a private bidding for the rights to develop WWE video games, for which THQ had an exclusive license through 2017. THQ entered bankruptcy in December, and when a plan to sell all of its assets to a private equity firm was shot down by a judge, the company's assets were sold off piecemeal, closing the company. THQ's WWE license and assets were never a part of that process. The WWE did not disclose who other than 2K parent Take-Two Interactive bid on the license.