This news shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone given that the NBA 2K franchise is not only the pinnacle of basketball games but looked at as one of, if not the best, sports gaming franchise in town.
The National Basketball Association, the National Basketball Players Association and 2K announced a multiyear global partnership. According to Eric Fisher of the Sports Business Journal, the deal is seven years and worth $1.1 billion.
NBA, NBPA renew licensing deal with Take-Two Interactive in 7-yr agreement for NBA 2K worth as much as $1.1 billion. NBA 2K is the industry's top-selling simulation sports video game.
— Eric Fisher (@EricFisherSBG) January 15, 2019
The press release doesn’t reveal the details of the agreement, however.
“The NBA has been an outstanding partner throughout the history of the NBA 2K franchise, contributing significantly to its unparalleled success and the ability to grow its audience around the world across a myriad of platforms and offerings,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two in the release. “We’re thrilled to be in business with Adam and the entire team at the NBA, and enter into the longest-ever partnership extension between our organizations. Together, we’re confident that we will continue to find new and innovative ways to captivate and engage basketball fans, and expand further the success of the NBA 2K brand.”
NBA 2K18 sold over 10 million copies while NBA 2K19 has been selling quite well. While solid figures haven’t been released yet, NBA 2K19 sold 1.23 million copies in it’s first week.
The NBA series isn’t the only game that will be affected by this partnership. All games under the NBA 2K umbrella will be included. This means games like NBA 2K Online and NBA 2K Online 2, which has over 40 million registered users in China, will be supported. As will NBA 2K Playground 2 (you can read my review here), NBA 2K Mobile and the esports phenomenon NBA 2K League.
