NBA 2K22 will be released on September 10, 2021. This post will contain all the news drops available for NBA 2K22 and should serve as your go-to headquarters for finding new information about the newest iteration of the game.

Jump to: 2K22 Versions | Gameplay Updates | MyCareer News | Park/City News | MyTeam News | Other Info

Versions of the Game and the Cover Athletes

  • Standard Edition: Available for both Current ($60) and Next-Gen ($70). Contains one copy of the game for the respective console in which you purchase the game for. Preorder here.
  • Cross-Gen Digital: For $80, you get a digital version of both the Current and Next-Gen versions of the game on either the Playstation or Xbox console family. Preorder here.
  • 75th Anniversary Edition: With Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowtizki, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the cover, this version contains both the Current and Next-Gen versions of the game, plus some extra goodies like 100,000 VC. Preorder here.
  • 25th Anniversary WNBA Version: With Candace Parker on the cover, this is a Next-Gen only version of the game. It’s still the full NBA 2K22 game, but with a WNBA-specific cover. Preorder here.

Gameplay Updates

  • 2K claims to have a new slate of signature moves and combos, and jump shooting, contact dunks, and alley oops are apparently more skill-based. We’ll see, but hopefully this decreases the amount of ridiculous dunk animations and whites going in.
  • 2K also claims there is a new shot contest and blocking system. Next-Gen has a notoriously bad contest system, especially in the paint, so hopefully this claim applies especially to the PS5/Xbox X version of the game.
  • We expect these changes to largely affect Next-Gen. Current Gen has largely been the same game for the past few years. Current Gen may see the addition of sigs, but I doubt it will get any other major gameplay revamps.
  • 2K’s gameplay director stated that the on-court experience is similar between current and next-gen 2K22. Graphics probably differ, but controls and on-court feel seem to be pretty similar according to this source.
  • Some shooting stuff: You don’t need a super high rating to shoot decently, Steady Shooter is gone, the vibration cue remains out of the game, shot aiming is gone, and there is a new shot meter.

MyCareer

  • MyCareer is going to be completely different between Current Gen and Next-Gen. There is no cross-progression.
  • Next-Gen will have no storyline like in past years, apparently the focus is on your player’s life in the City. This includes storylines around endorsements, quests with NPCs in the City, and amassing wealth and assets like housing and other stuff.
  • We expect Current Gen to have a similar experience to past years. There will be a new storyline, but the same endorsement pipeline and a shorter timeline that cuts out at about midway through the first season. Most will skip the story on Current Gen, anyways.
  • There will be seasonal animation content drops for the MyPlayer mode. This includes dribble animations and even jumpshot animations.
  • Preorder NBA 2K22 here.

The City/Neighborhood

  • On Next-Gen, the City will feature NPCs that supposedly enhance the experience. We’re a bit skeptical about their role. In addition, the City is redesigned to also improve the experience of walking around. Hopefully stuff is easier to find and walk times are decreased.
  • MATCHMAKING IS FINALLY ON NEXT-GEN. Although there are not many details, apparently we will be able to hop into certain buildings and get games. Hopefully this means we can go solo when our buddies can’t play, but we shall see.
  • Current Gen’s Park is now on a cruise ship. Kind of a cool concept, but it will probably otherwise have the same layout as the past few years. Apparently the cruise ship will stop at islands for special events, but we’ll see closer to release date.
  • Seasons are apparently a feature in the City and Neighborhood. They made their debut in MyTeam in 2K21, and offered prizes for a limited amount of time based on gameplay. We loved them in MyTeam, and they will probably be pretty cool for online MyCareer game modes.
  • As always, visuals of the new City and Cruise Ship will be released basically a few days before release of the game. This means we will have to wait until around September 5-9 to see some real news on the supposed upgrades.

MyTeam

  • MyTeam will largely be the same between console generations, with the only differences being related to gameplay. There is cross-progression between the consoles, meaning your progress is saved on both Current Gen and Next Gen consoles.
  • Seasons, which was actually a great way to keep MyTeam alive during typical dead periods, is back for 2K22.They apparently extend to all game modes, but we assume it will be about the same as the seasons we saw and loved in 2K21.
  • Draft mode is back for MyTeam, which allows two players to join a game without having a team prepared. Instead, they are randomly assigned players. This should be fun for some players (especially NMS), but may not be used by the card collector players.
  • Apparently there is a new game mode debuting around Thanksgiving/Christmas. We don’t have any details on it, but it might be interesting to keep an eye out for.

Other Relevant Information

  • There is no cross-console play this year, meaning Xbox players cannot play with or against Playstation players and Current Gen players can not play against or with Next-Gen players.
  • MyTeam progress again carries over from Current Gen to Next-Gen, and vice-versa. MyCareer will not have cross-progression, however, and MyCareer will vary differently between generations again.
  • The Nintendo Switch and the PC will receive only the Current Gen version of the game. This is a sad development, especially for the PC, but they will only receive the older version of the game for the second straight year.
  • Preorder NBA 2K22 here.