Anyone who's ever watched professional wrestling knows the name McMahon. Vincent Kennedy McMahon, the current chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, was one of the greatest villains on television back in the '90s — his feuds with Stone Cold Steve Austin remain some of the greatest stories in professional wrestling, with many fans citing them as a high point in the promotion's long history.
More recently, Vince's children have taken center stage: Stephanie McMahon has filled a similar role to that of her father, acting as one of WWE's major antagonists, while Shane McMahon recently returned to wrestling in an attempt to turn things around. Though the feud between the two has only been at the forefront of the promotion for a few months, it's already become one of the most popular storylines of the past few years.
With the McMahon family back in the spotlight, it makes sense that 2K Games would take the opportunity to expand their next video game's roster in an unexpected way. That's right: as confirmed by a post on Twitter on July 26, Vince, Shane and Stephanie McMahon will all be included as playable characters when WWE 2K17 launches later this year.
It's a family affair! Catch @VinceMcMahon, @shanemcmahon, and I in #WWE2K17! Check out @IGN for Roster Reveal info. pic.twitter.com/Boi89MaaMt
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) July 26, 2016
Granted, this isn't the first time that the McMahons will make the jump to the virtual ring. All three members of the family have made appearances in various WWE video games throughout the years, with Vince leading the pack at 22 different appearances. There's still no word on whether or not 2K Games will include any alternate versions of the McMahons, but it wouldn't be all that surprising to see unlockable costumes based on different WWE eras.
Of course, the McMahons only represent a small part of the full WWE 2K17 roster. Goldberg served as the first major addition to the lineup, while mainstays like John Cena and the Ultimate Warrior were announced shortly thereafter. More reveals have been promised for the coming weeks, and there's a good chance that the game will feature more NXT Superstars than ever before — considering that so many of the WWE's developmental performers were moved up to the main roster on television, a jump to the virtual roster seems inevitable.
WWE 2K17 is set for release this October, but if you just can't wait until then, WWE 2K16 will be a part of the Xbox Live Games with Gold promotion starting on Aug. 16.
