Two decades after the series first tipped off on the Dreamcast in 1999, NBA 2K remains the dominant basketball franchise. With few rivals left to challenge 2K, the publisher has the luxury of setting the pace for the genre — a situation that can breed repetition. Still, Visual Concepts has continued to invest in the core of the experience: the on-court basketball. That work pays off in NBA 2K27, which offers an impressively convincing simulation of the sport. The praise ends, however, once you step away from the hardwood and into the game's menus, virtual shops and myriad modes designed to prompt real-money spending. I’ve criticised this direction for years and doubt it will change soon: 2K is following wider industry trends, and players themselves contribute by regularly buying the pricier editions that include the most virtual currency. Even so, the underlying basketball is once again excellent — it’s the pervasive microtransactions that tarnish the overall package.
Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: 2K
Platforms: PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XO, NS, NS2
Official website: NBA 2K27
Release date: September 4, 2026
Price: €69.99
TRAILER
A few of the headline gameplay changes are built on ProPlay, a system that maps footage from real NBA games into in-game animations. 2K touts more than 7,000 new animations for NBA 2K27 — a figure that’s hard to independently verify — but the practical effect during matches is clear: player movement feels more varied and less robotic than in recent entries.
The improvements are most apparent around the rim. Layups now adapt to a player’s angle, the position of the defender and how the play unfolds in the air, so attackers no longer cycle through the same predictable finishes. Dribbling and dunking have been refined as well, with the game making more believable choices about how a move resolves based on the space around the basket. Those tweaks combine to produce a flow that resembles a televised game more than a catalog of canned moves.
Defence has been overhauled in similar spirit. Block attempts react to the direction and context of shots, so defenders don’t always leap straight up in a one-size-fits-all animation on spin or step-back jumpers. When coverage is late you’ll see full-body, last-second efforts to get between the ball and the rim — plays that don’t always succeed, but add welcome unpredictability and visual flair.
The series’ ball physics have been revisited too: collisions now factor in the attributes of both players involved. A strong and well-positioned defender can, with timely intervention...