Take-Two Interactive’s 2K, NBA, & NBPA Announce Multi-Year Partnership Extension Worth $1.1 Billion
On the heels of the success of NBA 2K19 and previous installments of the game, a new long-term partnership has been announced. The National Basketball Association (NBA) and NBA Players Association (NBPA) recently announced a new multi-year global partnership expansion with Take-Two Interactive’s NBA 2K brand. The goal is to continue the lucrative partnership and further expand the success the game has seen to new levels.
Take-Two Interactive, NBA, & NBPA’s new partnership
The new multi-year partnership is said to involve Take Two paying the NBA and NBA “up to $1.1 billion over seven years,” per the Wall Street Journal. That’s much more than their previous deal back in 2011, but one that makes sense as they secure their franchise with the league and its players. The realistic nature of sports games demands using actual athletes to create the looks, styles, and skills these players possess.
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) is the parent company of 2K Sports including the NBA 2K brand. Take-Two Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick commented about the new long-term partnership involving the NBA and NBPA, as he called the NBA “an outstanding partner throughout the history of the NBA 2K franchise.”
The NBA-Take-Two agreement reflects the steep costs videogame makers can face in securing star power for their games https://t.co/dEy4E379v7
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 15, 2019
Per the press release on Tuesday (Jan. 15), the Take-Two Chairman and CEO also said of the new deal:
“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 Commissioner, NBAPA Executive Director comment on the partnership
Adam Silver has been the NBA Commissioner for nearly five years now. During that time, he’s overseen plenty of controversy and changes within the league. Some of the changes introduced include a new format for the annual NBA All-Star Game, as well as the potential for sports betting integration with the league. Silver has been a proponent of useful changes during his time in the league, so it should be interesting to see how things might change with this partnership.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said of the partnership:
“We are grateful to extend our partnership with Take-Two and the NBPA to build on the enormous popularity of the NBA 2K franchise and the continued global growth of basketball.”
NBA Players Association (NBPA) Executive Director Michele Roberts also commented on the new long-term partnership, Roberts mentioned that “NBA 2K has become an important part of the NBA culture both for our players and fans” and that the NBAPA is looking forward to continuing the partnership.
Take-Two Interactive: NBA 2K looking towards continued global success
The NBA 2K franchise has been in existence since way back in 1999 when Allen Iverson graced the cover. That game was available for the Sega Dreamcast. Since then, there have been many more editions of the game, all the way up to the latest NBA 2K19. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetounmkpo, aka the Greek Freak, graced the latest edition’s cover. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is featured on a special edition game cover.
2K19 is among the bestselling sports games but also one of the bestselling video games. It ranked amongst the top 20 best selling games of 2018, per USA Today. 2K19 had 1.4 million units sold for the PlayStation 4 as of mid-December 2018. The 2K18 edition sold about four million units, showing just how popular the game is with basketball enthusiasts.
In addition to the NBA 2K19 game, there’s also NBA 2K Online, NBA 2K Online 2, NBA 2K Playgrounds 2, and NBA 2K Mobile. A brand new NBA 2K League began in May of last year.
The long-term Take-Two Interactive and NBA partnership could bring more interaction involving the league and its players could happen. Technology concepts such as virtual or augmented reality are seeing more integration with video games. One can only wonder what sorts of new innovations might arrive for the future of NBA 2K.