Another upcoming NBA season means another NBA 2K game is soon to release. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, NBA 2K is soon to release its 25th addition to the franchise, NBA 2K24, in the next couple of months. Despite no official release date, the prominent basketball simulator is aiming for its usual release date in September, and it's possible for fans to pinpoint which specific day it might be. Based on the trends of the previous NBA 2K games' release dates, NBA 2K24 will follow in suit of an end of summer/beginning of autumn launch.
Players will be hoping the sequel to NBA 2K23 will improve upon the flaws of the previous game while still giving players an enjoyable basketball experience. Not much has been revealed yet about the game, including a gameplay trailer that usually showcases new animations, graphics, and MyCAREER content. Although, one of the big new features of NBA 2K24 is that it will incorporate crossplay between consoles, a first for the franchise.
Predicting NBA 2K24's Release Date Based On Previous NBA 2K Games
Judging from the past several NBA 2K games, its reasonable to assume that NBA 2K24's release date will occur some time in September 2023. NBA 2K games always release in September because the start of the NBA season is usually in October, with the exception of the 2020-21 NBA season during the COVID pandemic. The last NBA 2K game that didn't release in September was NBA 2K15 on October 7, 2014, showing how likely this theory is to be true. It doesn't seem as though 2K Sports would shoot for an earlier August release, nor a later October release for NBA 2K24.
To list the previous NBA 2K game release dates: NBA 2K21 released on September 4, 2020; NBA 2K22 released on September 10, 2021; NBA 2K23 released on September 9, 2022. All of these games were released on Fridays in the second week (first full week) of September, which should be a clear indicator of which day NBA 2K24 will release.
Based on the NBA 2K's release date trends, its feasible to infer that NBA 2K24 will release on Friday, September 8, 2023, barring any setbacks in development. If there were any issues in development, the alternative release date could either be September 14 or September 22 which are the following Fridays. Some players wouldn't mind a later release date than usual, as it would allow NBA 2K developer more time to work on the game for a better release state and address issues like NBA 2K's download size.
NBA 2K24's Different Versions
At the moment, NBA 2K24 has four different versions up for pre-order: NBA 2K24 25th Anniversary Edition, NBA 2K24 Black Mamba Edition, NBA 2K24 Kobe Bryant Edition, and NBA 2K24 WNBA Edition. To honor the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant, NBA 2K has dedicated two versions of the game to him, as one of the numbers he's worn on his jersey was his iconic 24. The 25th Anniversary Edition features an NBA Championship-styled ring with the number 25 on its cover while the WNBA Edition features WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu as the alternative NBA 2K24 cover athlete.
The standard price and version of NBA 2K24 is the Kobe Bryant Edition or the WNBA Edition (only a physical copy, only in north America), which are both set at $69.99. The 25th Anniversary Edition is set at $149.99 and the Black Mamba Edition has a $99.99 price tag. Both pricier editions will include various bonus content for players, including VC, MyTEAM content (such as MyTEAM points, packs, and cars) and MyCAREER content (clothing, accessories, and boosts). However, the 25th Anniversary Edition includes a full-season 12 month NBA League Pass subscription for real-life basketball fans to enjoy. It will be up to fans to decide which version of NBA 2K24 they want to pre-order before its release.
NBA 2K24 is currently in development and is anticipated to be released in September 2023.