- Publisher: 2K Games
- Release Date: Sep 5, 2025
- Also On: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
- Summary:
- Developer: Visual Concepts
- Genre(s): Sports, Team, Basketball, Sim
- Cheats: On GameFAQs
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 4
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Mixed: 0 out of 4
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Negative: 0 out of 4
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Sep 8, 2025NBA 2K26 confirms its position as the undisputed champion of basketball games in a largely uncompetitive market, sticking with its familiar formula and improving it in a few ways. We really enjoyed the improved fluidity of the match action and the new shooting mode, as well as the structure of the career mode, although the reward system and the myriad of repetitive tasks don't always live up to expectations. As always, we're not particularly fond of in-game transactions, but they're no longer a novelty. The king is back, long live the king! But so many taxes...
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Sep 18, 2025As always, NBA games try to offer a plethora of options to people, and everyone will find their favorite. For NBA 2K26, they built upon the feedback received from players, and the movement, along with gameplay, all feels a lot more natural and realistic. That’s key, because you have so many modes, you do want to enjoy every match and improve, which now has become a whole lot easier. I like the fact that they continue to add new game modes and clearly, some things like the MyGM and MyCareer are immediate standouts. I’ve always enjoyed NBA 2K games and I think 2K26 has become my favorite. Not only does it have everything I want from a basketball game, tons of modes and realism, but its online features are robust, and the game also didn’t crash on me even once. Yes, there are microtransactions in there that ruin the fun a little, but as a complete package, I think NBA 2K26 is well-worth trying, and you’ll find yourself playing for hours without stopping.
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Sep 14, 2025This year’s edition of NBA 2K has been polished, refined and improved in both subtle and important ways, making it the best edition of the franchise in recent memory.
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Oct 6, 2025If you’re fine with installing Anti-Cheat software and have no issues with either paying through the nose or grinding away to improve your player, then it’s hard to imagine a better basketball experience. But that’s a very big “if”, and if you just want a game you can pick up and play like you were able to a decade ago (or maybe more, at this point), those days are long gone.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
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Sep 10, 2025All in all, it’s the usual fridge full of good and bad ingredients, making for a soup that tastes slightly different to last year’s - but not noticeably superior. As such, unless there's a specific change you like the sound of, 2K26 is probably a year to skip. It’s best summed up by its version of The City - the explorable hub where MyPlayers wander around and join impromptu street games. Rather than 2K25’s ridiculously extravagant urban sprawl, complete with pirate ship area, mech workshop and Michael Jordan-themed coliseum, this time, almost everything is tightly packed into a nondescript shopping centre and park.