2K NFL Games to Return Thanks to New Multiyear Partnership for ‘Football-Themed’ Titles
A new partnership involving game developer 2K games and the National Football League will bring back 2K’s football-themed video games, but not quite like some may hope. It’ll make for the return of 2K NFL games for the first time since 2004 when they released ESPN NFL 2K5 to the masses. The new partnership will bring competition to EA, but only slightly, based on the details of what 2K can create with their “football-themed games.”
2K and NFL enter new partnership
Per ESPN’s report, this will be a “multiyear partnership encompassing multiple future video games.” Discussions have taken place involving specific consoles as well as mobile offerings, but nothing has been made official there.
Rachel Hoagland, Vice President and Head of Gaming and Esports at the NFL commented about the new partnership:
“As more people play more games than ever before, we have been increasing our efforts and looking to expand our footprint in the space. It just seemed to make sense as a natural step in that direction to revive our partnership with 2K.”
It’s also important to note that these will not be “non-simulation football game experiences.” This is due to the fact that EA currently holds the rights to create the simulation titles including the Madden 20 game. Still, this could open the door for the future.
The games will be “a deep, fun and very authentic product offering. They’re not (a) very traditional simulation product,” said Jason Argent, Senior Vice President of Sports Strategy and Licensing at 2K.
2K NFL games history spans five years
The series of 2K NFL games were around for just five years. The first of these came out on September 9, 1999, with NFL 2K and was on the Sega Dreamcast. Randy Moss was the cover star for the game and the two follow-ups.
NFL 2K1 and 2K2 arrived in the following years and also were available for Dreamcast. However, 2K2 was the first to become available for PS2 and Xbox.
NFL 2K2 arrived in August of 2002 with Chicago Bears defensive star Brian Urlacher on the cover. It was available for PS2, Xbox, and GameCube.
In 2003, the game got a name change as it became ESPN NFL Football. It was only made available for Xbox and PS2 with Warren Sapp on the cover.
In 2004, the main series’ final game was released with ESPN NFL 2K5. Wide receiver Terrell Owens was the official cover athlete.
There was also a spin-off title with All Pro Football 2K8 in 2007. This game was on the newer PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles. John Elway, Barry Sanders, and Jerry Rice were on the cover.
Fans have been hoping for some new football games and this partnership should cure that. However, with recent rumors that there are talks for an XFL video game, one has to wonder if 2K is now out of the running for that or will still become involved.
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