2K’s annual NBA sim has felt the same for several years now, but, according to the developers, that’s going to change with the next-gen version of this year’s 2K21, as the upcoming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X release is being built from the ground up for Microsoft and Sony’s respective next-gen consoles.
We still haven’t seen any next-gen gameplay from NBA 2K21, nor do we know when it arrives on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, but when it does, it’ll be more expensive than in previous years.
While speaking with Protocol, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick explained why the standard, next-gen version of NBA 2K21 will cost $70.
“The bottom line is that we haven’t seen a front-line price increase for nearly 15 years, and production costs have gone up 200 to 300%,” Zelnick said. “But more to the point since no one really cares what your production costs are, what consumers are able to do with the product has completely changed.
“We deliver a much, much bigger game for $60 or $70 than we delivered for $60 10 years ago. The opportunity to spend money online is completely optional, and it’s not a free-to-play title. It’s a complete, incredibly robust experience even if you never spend another penny after your initial purchase.”
As previously mentioned, we still haven’t seen any gameplay from the next-gen version of NBA 2K21, and it’s unclear when 2K will do a full-blown gameplay reveal. Also, as of right now, there’s no release date attached to the title, but it’s probably safe to assume that it’ll launch sometime around Christmas.
Some expected 2K to do a gameplay reveal during last week’s PlayStation 5 showcase, but the stream ended without showing anything from NBA 2K21.
The current-gen version of 2K’s annual NBA game hasn’t been well-received, as most have said that it feels too much like last year’s game, with the only significant change being a new shot aiming mechanic. So, it’ll be interesting to see what they change for the next-gen versions because if it’s just a visual upgrade, players will likely be displeased.
Unlike with a game like Call of Duty, 2K’s upcoming next-gen release won’t have cross-gen support because, according to the developers, the next-gen advancements will be so significant that it would be like comparing Halo 4 to Halo 5.
If the next-gen version of NBA 2K21 is going to launch sometime around Christmas, then we should see gameplay within the next month or two.