Paul Heyman: ECW Games Pioneered Elements of GTA and Fortnite

ECW was very innovative in the professional wrestling world, many know that. However, Paul Heyman, the mastermind behind Extreme Championship Wrestling, is now saying ECW’s video games paved the way for Fortnite and GTA.

Extreme Championship Wrestling had two video games released during its run. ECW Hardcore Revolution was the first, coming to the Sony PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Sega Dreamcast in 2000. Later that same year, ECW Anarchy Rulz was released for PlayStation and Dreamcast.

Both games featured the over-the-top violence ECW was known for. However, the titles were mostly re-skins of 1999’s WWF Attitude. All three games were released by Acclaim Entertainment.

Paul Heyman Says His ECW Games Pioneered Elements Found in Today’s Top Sellers

Paul Heyman was recently interviewed by VGC to promote WWE 2K26. During the interview, he was asked about the legacy of the two ECW video games published by Acclaim. In typical wrestling promoter fashion, “The Wise Man” touted the innovative nature of ECW and claimed that those games featured elements found in Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto today.

“The ECW video game had things in it that, years later, ended up in Grand Theft Auto. Years later, ended up in Fortnite. Years later, ended up in all of these video games that are the rage today. These little things that were in the ECW video games have now become the big things in all of the video games that are hot on the marketplace today,” he said.

“So my memories of the ECW video games is that we were indeed what we were outside of the video game, which is the revolutionary and evolutionary force that completely changed the game and the video game within the industry.”

Not too many people who played either game would agree with that statement. Still, Paul Heyman is a WWE Hall of Famer. He earned that honor for his work as a promoter and his ability to present compelling narratives. His claims about the legacy of ECW’s games sure are compelling and entertaining.

For more WWE on Insider Gaming, check out all active locker codes for WWE 2K26.

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