EXCLUSIVE Interview with WWE 2K24 UNIVERSE MODE Lead Designer Cristo Kyriazis 

Run in should happening outside Rivalry as well. How can devs not see that universe mode is the most important mode out there and needs more love.

They need to study what they did for 11 and 12 regarding universe. Those were really good and had unexpected random scenes and interactions.

Jesse!! This is a Big Deal Man good SHIT!! This is a good look for your channel and more importantly YOU!! Happy For You!!!!!!

Bring back promos, show intros an add show outro. Add all the tournaments like King of the ring number one contenders etc. get rid of rivalry actions and add story designer. Drafts, stable rivalries. Universe will go a long way.

Thank god they are not merging universe with my Gm. Now maybe certain influencers can stop whining about it.

Kudos Jesse getting this interview! I only play Universe Mode and i've always wanted communication with the dev team! And Kudos to Cristo for agreeing too it!

after listening to this interview, am not surprised about the features that fans were asking and is missing from universe mode. As for promos, I remember playing 2k19, I rarely play the promos. I just focus on creating matches and changing up pay per views. online universe mode...no thank you. that sounds very complicated especially when we know wrestling games are not that good when it comes to online services.

Man fuck universe mode online let them fix universe mode first

I hope they fix the alt attires glitch in universe mode. 🤞🤞

In terms of Promos…One idea I had was giving us Voice Tags which is basically are recordings of a wrestlers’ catchphrases. This way we can use text for the base of promos but still have that authentic feel with voiced catchphrases. For example. The Rock would have his: - “Finally…THE ROCK….HAS COME BACK TO….” - “IF YA SMELL…” -“IT DOESN’T MATTER….” - “JUST BRING IT” -“ THE MILLIONS…..” - “ONE ON ONE WITH THE GREAT ONE” - “THE MOST ELECTRIFYING MAN…” - “KNOW YOUR ROLL AND SHUT YOUR MOUTH” “TURN THAT SUM’***** SIDEWAYS” Players could decide where to insert these in the promo. This way there’s no need to voice the entire promo but we could still add the voice tags within the text promo to make it more authentic. This could apply to a lot of other superstars. I used the Rock as an extreme since he not only has a LOT, but some of the most iconic catchphrases Mannerisms and Taunts could also be used to add to authenticity. Taker’s throat slash, Cena’s You Can’t See Me” etc could also play a role in the promo Basically the point is they could give us a mixture of voice, text and mannerisms to make for a great promo system.

This is a cool interview. The only thing I really do in any of these games is set up universe mode. I know for a lot of others they are content to just blast through random exhibition matches, play stuff like my rise, or play online. But for me that aspect of having a total sandbox of pro wrestling is more appealing and gives more context to me making things like random exhibition matches lol Honestly this is refreshing because universe is a mode that I've seen so little change to that I wondered if they weren't just going to get rid of it soon rather than actually try to make it better

I watched this before. And came back to it and I don't know but this interview gives me very little hope for 2K25. Next year they may add some cutscenes and the abilities to choose allies for Numbers Beat Down Cutscene and then call it a year 😅 but the repetitiveness of the mode is what kills it for me because of the lack of features. Branching storylines should be a thing for rivalry actions

Great interview man!

I’d love to see fan feedback in a way not as a limitation on universe but as a way to see how the fans react as they do in gm mode and irl

Honestly speaking, I really, really feel they should borrow elements from 2K14's Create-a-Story mode. It's meant to feel like a sandbox but all I'm really doing (at least what it feels like) is just assembling toys (Action figures, you might say, lol) and just telling them what to do when they win or lose. Like, I want that creative freedom of writing what Corey Graves says if something happens or insert a cutscene in-between matches (kinda like promos) like backstage altercations, interviews, the full enchilada, lol. Promo packages before PPVs, lol; if the PS2 can do it, why not PS5? I think it's the lack of feeling truly involved and going full-ham like in 2K14 and making silly or serious plotlines where I just can't do much in Universe mode, lol. But alas, that's not what they want to do. Bummer, lol.

I think alot of things that is hindering this mode is the code and customization.

Sadly, the 2K devs just make excuses. They say they hear us. Which might be the case, but I know for a fact they ignore us. They've been making this game for too long to still not figure out how to add certain things. Listening to their interviews would make you think they were working with Sega Dreamcast era technology.

definitely understand him on the draft . even for GM mode there’s still roadblocks that don’t allow you to draft created wrestlers. Can’t imagine how it’ll work in universe mode

Tell to fix the barricade trons that they broke a bunch of patches ago and still haven't fixed, i'm very doubtfull that it will be fixed in todays update

Great interview

Great interview.

After watching this I think they need somebody else doing universe mode.. everything is right infront of the guy. the right questions were asked and pretty much all he could give is generic answers like were working on it, we would love to see it.. it's like dude universe mode hasn't even been changed in years and it's literally gotten worse. To be honest after watching this interview I have no faith at all anything is even going to get better for 2k25 what a joke.

I think they just need to go the route of having a non customizable WWE Universe Mode that is cater towards telling stories and playing matches and the regular sandbox Universe mode.

Sweet!!!

Just wondering, if so many things are broken and causing issues in Universe Mode can they not rebuild the mode from scratch? Just like they did for GM Mode.. That way it will run more smoothly? Sometimes you have to take 1 step back to take 2 steps forward..

Online Universe would probably be easier once last generation consoles version are done.

Wwe 2k25 should add a ranking system for universe mode next year 😂😂😂

What is his job really because universe has been the same for almost 10 years so he gets paid for subpar work sounds like a 2k product

I'd be happier if they didn't REMOVE these things in the first place..

I'm late watching 👀 right now.

We dont need the voice man just give people promos to complete the sandbox experience.

Restart it all

why don't they rebuild the universe mode from scratch and put promo's, show intro's and the draft in the mode, if they have to skip a year to do it will be worth it.

I noticed halfway thru he got more comfortable. That's so kool!!

I don’t need to hear them talk in promos, to be fair I’d like to hide the comments so I can make my own, I just need the cutscenes

I would love to see more varients to rivalries. Adding to triple threats, fatal four ways, trios, etc...

Whew I love your interview questions pro wrestling shoot. I really do, however im so sorry to say this but I think its BS answers you are given each and every year and it isnt fair to you. I just dont feel like Universe Mode will ever be a focus so there going to keep shitting on us as far as features go. Why is it taken them YEARS to say "They are improving on multi man rivalries" Its a lie. Universe Mode will be the same every single year from 2K22 onwards. Why cant we type out our own promos? Why cant we get a draft regardless of how many main shows we have? I feel like its all excuses. Not knocking their hard work however I think its BS that they barely try with universe mode and we are fed the tiniest of breadcrumbs year after year. It has so much potential but 2K WONT tap into that potential. We have been hearing stability issues for YEARS. If WWE12 can have a good universe mode and have triple threat rivalries why cant wwe2k24? Its all BS excuses they keep giving. Your meaning to tell me its going to be stability fixes all the way till 2K30 for Universe Mode??? Im so over the same robotic excuses for this Billion Dollar company. Just give the liscense to fans or modders at this point cuz I have had enough of 2K and there breadcrumbs ass updates!

How do you plan on improving for next year?

THEY NEED TO COPY AND PASTE 2k19

With the little amount time of time they have for annual releases, I am actually happy when it comes to their annual additions. 2k23: rivalry actions being choosable. Makes it more organized and gives you more control 2k24: selectable characters for rivalry actions It's simply the bugs and glitches that drives me mad.

If promos weren't done right. You go in and fix it. That's what other game companies would do. Also, it doesn't need to have dialog. Turn promos into cutscenes. We can use our imagination from their or allow us to add in dialog. When you go back and look at the THQ days. They always found ways to make the game fresh, and they had the same amount of time to make those games.

Thank you for this awesome interview and awesome to meet Cristo and understandthings more. We appreciate him talking with us all.

I love it, he even saying himself that one year is to short and it is. It should be two years for every game and just give us more updates with dlcs and attires to keep the game up-to-date. Every game would be a better step up.

Bro all I want is a bunch of new cutscenes and number one contender matches and a superstar shake up lol ,

Honestly one big issue with this game is that we get it constantly every year I need to spend it out so we get a new game every 2 to 3 years and in the meantime they can bring out DLC for a tires and stuff like that don't price gouge just don't make it where is extremely hard to pay for this stuff it would also give them more time to put more work into the game to make it better when the new one does come out and yes the biggest thing to make the game more enjoyable stop making it a mortal Kombat UFC ripoff study professional wrestling say the rules and the maneuvers and stuff like that incorporate that into the game basically look in to see what actual wrestlers do when they reverse somebody or something like that incorporate that into the physics of the game

Why do rivalries have to face eachother on weekly shows

I love this! It sounds like the universe mode is way more involved than we give credit for. Great laid back interview, and from what I could tell, he answered honestly and didn't try to get around answering a question, as some people do. Excellent job!

You know what I would have asked. If they would think about hiring Leeper to help write MyRise or bring back Road to Wrestlemania an alternative to MyRise or an outright replacement of Showcase mode.

I get that it's tough to put Universe Mode together and it's even tougher trying to make sense of the old code but the amount of weird bugs I've seen players post on socials is crazy. I always assumed that the team working on it was small and maybe overstretched but Cristo says it's grown so how do you explain the bugs? How does having more resource lead to worse outcomes and more bugs? Some of them look they appear in basic testing too. I'm convinced that 2K/VC/whoever TF are letting the base game stagnate to prioritise MyFaction and make money hand over fist by exploiting kids'/young people's undiagnosed gambling addictions. All that money they rake in and we still can't get a game that works correctly.

As such a big universe fan I just have to break down this interview to give my thoughts hope you don't mind the essay but hopefully maybe some of what I can say can lead to something better down the line especially since you got to have this interview and thus might be influence things a little yourself. First off the problem with the start of the convo talking about Universe, is that it's as if the mode is currently good, no it's not, it's awful, it is most people's favourite mode, but not the current incarnation we get. Id say a lot of people now buy the game, might play Universe for like a week and its so bad they just stop playing the whole game pretty much. That always happens with me nowadays. Universe is so bad I don't bother with anything else because I don't see a point. I havnt even played as CM Punk once Next Promos and show intros in Universe will do nothing to actually improve the mode on its current state. They would be a novelty that wares off pretty quick. Also the reality is promos could be implemented easier if they did a different style of promos. Like take the original SmackDown for example, there is a way to implement them in a way that can work and can be fun implemented correctly. It really just sounds like Universe isn't a priority at all which is a shame. I have no faith in Universe in it's current state, it's just awful. Like for example the Rivalry system added in WWE 2K14 actually ruined universe a lot so just adding to it and having multiple man rivalries ain't really going to solve any problems because the foundation is just awful to begin with. I miss how Dynamic Universe used to be. You used to just be able play from scratch and enjoy it and live out an unpredictable WWE. Now the mode is just awful if you try play without setup, like it's so bad. It really does sound like they don't have the support to really do anything with Universe. It really needs to either be a bigger priority or just scrapped entirely and either create a new one or have a brand new season mode that does a lot of what Universe used to do. I feel like a simple season mode would help a lot now to add longevity to these games. Current Universe just isn't good enough to keep if it's not going to get enough improvements or changes. I'd rather we keep Universe and MyGM seperate because MyGM really isn't that great and certainly nothing like the original GM Mode which was a lot more like a real WWE experience instead of the unrealistic MyGM we have currently. Really wish you could have addressed what I brought up on X about Universe needing to go back to the old style when the mode was actually good. I'm probably going to be in denial here but I'm going to hope that it wasn't brought up because they actually are working on it (which I have seen hints that suggest they might be) and they don't want people to be spoiled. Wishful thinking but man Universe really needs an overhaul at this stage and I really hope we get something, ideally when we finally leave last gen behind at last, we finally get a brand new Universe or Season style mode but i wont hold my breath though hopefully we get something as it really would add so much to these games.

gotta subscribe! i’ve been waiting for this vid but lost your channel. thank God for YT recommendations

Fix universe mode please! i dont understand how universe mode fell apart so much compared to the older games it was so much fun back then now alls it is is glorified exhibition matches with broken cut scenes that have no meaning and you cant put a good story line together what so ever unless u keep a spread sheet.

Love to see it! 👊🏽

They need to add far more sht to Universe mode 🤦🏻‍♂️ and patch it up heavy before they dont

I only really like playing universe mode. Love you can create what ever you want and I really think they should put the focus on that mode and put universe mode and gm mode together

Thanks for this Upload!

Here's a novel idea...scrap the ancient, obsolete code and start fresh! Just a thought. 🤷 Remember when you took a whole year off?? Coming back with the old Universe code after that hiatus is frankly inexcusable.

What about custom music or an ability to upload titantrons to the game threw a app kinda like the logos

This is dope

I understand Jesse is trying to be very respectful, but at times, his questions seem like he was timid and afraid to ask a tough question. For example, "why isn't Universe mode improved upon each year?" "What would he like to have implemented into the mode?" "What are the roadblocks/barriers preventing significant upgrades from happening?" This was a highly requested dev interview and a golden opportunity to gain some insight into why this mode feels ignored. I'm sorry, but I feel like Jesse fumbled this opportunity. I mean no disrespect, just sharing honest feedback.

So it's okay to use the likeness of someone who's passed but you can't have a voice that sounds like this people's logic centers must have been removed during evolution or something