THQ will add a fourth wrestling title to its WWE lineup next year, the publisher's core games chief told CVG. It's not a western release of the Smackdown! vs. Raw Online currently available only in Asia, but something completely new.
To avoid cannibalizing sales of its flagship game, Bilson said the new title would be "less simmy" than Smackdown! vs. Raw. Question, if you're decreasing the simulation quality of a sport that is fake, does that mean it'll be more real?
Kidding aside, in explaining why Smackdown! vs. Raw Online will remain in Asia, Bilson said that version of the game was developed "uniquely for Asian playing habits and it would probably have to be modified creatively to bring it to the West." He didn't shut the door on the possibility some day, but it's solidly a no-plans kind of thing now.
Bilson said the fourth title comes through the publisher's strategy of adding an alternate version for the franchise every six months. WWE All-Stars (pictured), due out next year, is an example of that. It too is "less simmy," and focused on over-the-top action and having a rock-em sock-em good time.