Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick Is Now Punchable In WWE 2K26

Have you ever felt the need to beat up Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick? Well, now’s your chance.

As part of the latest update to WWE 2K26, Zelnick has been added to the game’s roster as a playable character. He even comes with his own commentary and uses Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as his entrance theme.

With Zelnick being on the playable roster, he can be used across the board within the game.

So, if you’re keen to toss him off a Hell in a Cell, slam him shut in a casket, or even set him on fire, it’s all fair game.

The only caveat is that 2K has blocked Zelnick from being customized using the in-game editor. You also can’t use his theme for any other wrestler. That, of course, won’t stop modders from having fun with the character model.

Players Are Confused

As you would expect, with the quiet nature of his addition to the roster, many players are confused as to why he was added in the first place.

“Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has been added to the game as a playable character. What’s going on exactly?,” said popular wrestling games platform SmackDown Hotel.

Said another player on Reddit, “All we want 2K is Paige and maybe Kendall Grey. Not Strauss…Listening to the community my ass.”

Zelnick’s addition to the game comes just after he made comments on the state of the franchise. Zelnick said that while they are happy with the Metacritic score and the player baswe for WWE 2K26, the game could be two to three times as big as it is.

“I do think there’s ongoing opportunities to improve the quality of the game,” Zelnick told IGN. “I do think that we can give consumers more of what they want, and I know our team at Visual Concepts always wants to do better. We’re never in the business of patting ourselves on the back.

“We believe that arrogance is the enemy of continued success, and I think that title could be double or triple the size that it is as long as we delight consumers, and as long as we give them something new and not expected that’s consistent with the brand that they love. That’s our job.”

Are you going use Strauss Zelnick in WWE 2K26? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming Discord.

In other news, read about College Football 27 coming to PC for the first time and why EA waited until year three to make it happen. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.