NBA 2K

From Dreamcast to Switch 2

Visual Concepts made the first NBA 2K for Sega in 1999, and a new edition has come out every year since. Take-Two bought the studio and the series in 2005, and 2K has published it since NBA 2K6. The series covers the current NBA season every year, adds historic teams and players, and since NBA 2K20 has included WNBA teams too.

For years its main rival was EA's NBA Live. NBA 2K kept improving its presentation until it looked like a TV broadcast, and by 2018 it was the best-selling NBA video game series, with more than 90 million units sold.

The modes that changed sports games

MyCAREER, which started life as 24/7 and then MyPlayer, turned a sports game into something closer to a role-playing game: you build one player and follow his or her career from the draft to retirement. MyTeam, added in NBA 2K13, lets players build fantasy squads from collectible cards, and MyGM and MyLeague put you in the front office.

NBA 2K14 is the best-selling single entry with more than seven million copies, and NBA 2K16 is the fastest seller, shipping more than four million in its first week. In 2018 the NBA and Take-Two launched the NBA 2K League, a professional esports league.

NBA 2K27, out now

NBA 2K27 launched worldwide on September 4, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch 2. San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, the first unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year, fronts the $69.99 Standard Edition. Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is on the $99.99 Deluxe Edition, and Chicago Bulls legend Derrick Rose, the youngest MVP in NBA history, was on the limited $149.99 Ultra Edition.

New this year: the first co-ed City in franchise history, a MyCAREER Eras mode, a 100-year MyNBA universe and overhauled two-way gameplay. Since NBA 2K25 the tagline has been Ball Over Everything.

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