WWE enthusiasts keen to acquire the latest wrestling game have now had the better part of a week to familiarise themselves if they pre-ordered it. With WWE 2K26’s various special editions launching on Friday, March 4, there have been numerous new features to master.

But principal amongst them is the fresh method to unlock the game’s earnable content. The new Ringside Pass provides fans with an innovative way to obtain playable characters, accessories, arenas and championships. But the duration required to do so has been revealed – and it’s not going to be a swift process.

One WWE 2K26 player claims it will require nearly 1,500 matches in the game to unlock everything under the new ‘battle pass’ system. Players accumulate Ringside Experience Points (RXP) for engaging with various modes, including Universe, Showcase and MyRise, with victory bonuses also available and RXP boosts unlockable within the Ringside Pass.

But one fan, @JackCrimsonCAWs on X, formerly Twitter, has taken to the social media platform to reveal precisely how significant a time investment the new Ringside Pass system will be.

After 2K Games announced that six seasons will be distributed across the game’s year-long cycle, Crimson claims players will need to complete a total of 1,488 matches – if they refrain from purchasing tier skips to advance, reports All Out Gaming.

Crimson wrote: “Quick math on the WWE 2K26 RXP grind: 227 play matches + 21 Showcase matches, 3 boosts used. If we assume Showcase matches give the exact same amount of RXP(? ), that’s a total of 248 matches per season.

“248 x six seasons = 1,488 matches to unlock every battle pass item. To me this highlights the biggest issue with the RXP system this year: The casual player that isn’t able to grind to that degree.”

Certain players have discovered an exploit enabling matches to be finished within seconds. Gamers are utilising Brock Lesnar to swiftly overcome the game’s lowest-rated character – WCW manager Eric Bischoff – through submission in an Underground bout.

Nevertheless, the game’s most recent patch has addressed this to some extent, mandating a match must run for 60 seconds to earn RXP. Consequently, Crimson maintains there’s improvement needed with the present system.

Crimson continued: “Let’s say the average match lasts 3 minutes for the sake of argument. That’s 4,464 minutes for the non-Bischoff users, or 74 hours and 24 minutes.

“Make no mistake, this game does a lot of things right. Love the physics, love the Create-a-Wrestler mode upgrades.

“The Ringside Pass is in major need of improvement. Personally, I’d recommend a Double RXP weekend to start Season 2 as a way to test adjustments to the payout system.”