Here's Why The Face Scanning In 'WWE 2K22' Looks So Damn Good

We spoke to the 2K Games development team about the new technology they're using on their new game 'WWE 2K22' to make Sasha Banks look like Sasha Banks.

WWE 2K22 Sasha Banks
2K Games

Image via 2K Games

WWE 2K22 Sasha Banks

WWE 2K22, out now, has garnered a positive reception from game critics and fans alike. In addition to rebuilding the reversal system, reincorporating GM mode, and creating both men’s and women’s career modes with multiple storylines, 2K did an excellent job of digitally scanning the active roster.

“It’s wild to see what goes into it, and they really do capture your facial expressions,” WWE Superstar Rhea Ripley says in a statement to Complex. “They [in-game characters] really look like the Superstars they’re supposed to be.”

The “uncanny valley”—that modern phenomenon where attempting realism creates characters that are unsettling, creepy or “off”—is a common obstacle for visual artists. There are different ways to overcome this problem. The first is to do away with strict realism and exaggerate the facial characteristics, to create a broader, more caricatured appearance. The second, more difficult way is to dig down–get even more granular, precise, and realistic—until the difference between reality and CGI is indistinguishable. 

We’re not there yet. But it’s getting closer, by inches and increments. 

WWE 2K22 Rhea Ripley entrance
2K Games facial scanning rig for WWE 2K22

“Now, we also have techniques that can either enhance or tone down a model based on how they were scanned,” Jinks said. “For example, if someone was scanned with a scowl or smirk, even though that’s part of their character trait, we need to capture a neutral expression and let our animators breathe that character into the performances in the game.”

The full roster of female Superstars added an additional layer of complexity.

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“We want to capture the women with make-up on to reflect how they appear on programming,” said Jinks. “But if we go that route, it creates a ton of work for our artist to edit or remove that make-up if that Superstar starts to go with a different look entirely i.e. Alexa Bliss.  We try to get a non-make-up version as well as getting them in make-up, but that takes more coordination with us and the WWE to carve out extra time with the Superstars. It’s not impossible, but it’s challenging due to their very busy schedules.”

This is where extra development time comes in handy. Players widely criticized the prior game, WWE 2K20, for its rushed development cycle, recycled content, and a preponderance of bugs. But by taking a year off—there was no WWE 2K21—the developers finally had time to focus on the little things that, when added up, made a more detailed, cumulative impression.

WWE 2K22 Brock Lesnar entrance
WWE 2K22 Asuka entrance

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the process of scanning the roster–ironically, for the better. From March to August 2020, WWE stopped touring and held all its weekly shows and PPVs at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. To accommodate this, the 2K development team sent a machine to the Performance Center and captured the likeness of everyone who passed through–much more efficient than trying to chase everyone down across the country. 

But what about the wrestlers that 2K couldn’t scan? Yokozuna died in October 2000. Eddie Guerrero died in November 2005. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels are still alive, but they don’t look how they did in 1995.

“Creating likenesses of younger versions of Superstars or those who are no longer with us has always been a challenge,” said Jinks. “It’s a bit easier when we have a current yet older version of the Superstar to begin with, but back in the early days they weren’t thinking about capturing images from every possible angle that an artist would need to capture their likeness.”

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The team enlisted the help of renowned 3D Artist Hossein Diba to recreate the likenesses of many of the Legends, and the team credits him with getting their visual quality on par with that of the current WWE Superstars.

The biggest challenge, however, was the sheer number of likenesses the team had to create. The final 2K22 roster has over 150 wrestlers, not including the upcoming DLC. It becomes a question of manpower and hours to bring every wrestler up to the same level of quality and presentation.

“The most difficult part about creating our characters is volume,” said Jinks. “Nailing the likeness, attire, simulations, animations, of one WWE superstar is not so challenging. But doing it for the majority of the roster is where it gets tricky.”

WWE 2K22 is out now on Xbox, Playstation, and PC. Visit the game’s official website for more information.

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