For years, the NBA 2K community has strayed further away from the franchise due to a lack of ingenuity and renovation. Players and content creators have long been begging for a change in the product.
All of that changes with 2K Games’ forthcoming release of NBA 2K24. Where, for the first time in the series’ history, everyone in the community will be able to play together with crossplay.
Crossplay allows players across different gaming consoles to play with each other — a feature that was popularized four years ago in the ultra-viral battle royale game ‘Fortnite’.
https://twitter.com/NBA2K/status/1677316741909606405?s=20
Though crossplay has been long overdue, excitement has spread throughout the population of players and content creators.
HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY
Popular gamer and content creator Solo shared with The Lead his excitement for NBA 2K24 and its new feature following the announcement:
“[Crossplay] has been something that’s long overdue. The community has been asking for it for years and it’s about time,” the Youtuber with over six hundred thousand subscribers said. “It should do big things big things for the community, bringing creators together for better content, wagers and mainly bringing friends together and reuniting them in the park.”
https://twitter.com/YT_Solo/status/1677790380320870400?s=20
Content creation for NBA 2K has been in limbo for some years now. Before crossplay, creators had not been able to collaborate without buying a brand-new console. This led to monotonous content and an overall lack of interest in the game early in its year-long span.
“I think crossplay reunites the community in a way. It can do big things for the 2K community,” Solo said. “We aren’t fully sure how it’ll pan out, but it’ll definitely do more good than bad for the game.”
A NEW ERA OF 2K
As the franchise enters its 25-year anniversary, crossplay is seen as an era-defining feature for the game. The video-game series needed a jolt of life and it finally got it a quarter-century in. Especially because NBA 2K is nearly the last of its competitors to introduce crossplay.
“Crossplay will change NBA 2K forever. It should be guaranteed that NBA 2K will be a little bit fun at the minimum because of this new feature,” Solo said.
It is no question that crossplay has benefited many games before. But for a game like NBA 2K that connects fans closer to the NBA, it may serve as a stepping stone for the game of basketball as a whole.
WHEN THE GAME EXPANDS, EVERYONE WINS
The NBA has done a tremendous job expanding the game all over the world in recent years. Whether it be the Basketball Africa League (BAL) or their highly-coveted Basketball Without Borders (BWB), the game of basketball is ever-expanding.
Crossplay, although minor, is the latest example of the game being able to reach a demographic that otherwise wouldn’t bat an eye. Expansion in any form is great. And while 2K is expanding its game to the community, it’s also doing the game of basketball a valuable service.
The impact this feature’s introduction will have on the community, its creators, and the game of basketball cannot be overstated. A population of players was crumbling and there was one thing that needed to happen.
Crossplay is more than just a ‘new feature’. It is the start of a new era for a game that has been loved for two-and-a-half decades.
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