The National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players’ union have announced a multi-year extension of their global partnership with Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of the NBA 2K video game.
The deal will see Take-Two’s 2K studio continue to make the NBA 2K video game franchise and other NBA-branded games, including smartphone apps.
The length and financial terms of the new contract were not officially released, but the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) claims the deal could be worth as much as US$1.1 billion over seven years.
“An entire generation of basketball fans engage and connect with NBA teams and players through NBA 2K,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver. “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.”
WSJ says that the value of the new deal is more than double the organisations’ previous agreement signed in 2011. The estimated US$1.1 billion figure, based on a percentage of sales of Take-Two’s NBA games, owes its increase to both the growing popularity of the game and the revenue generated from microtransactions, which allow gamers to make small digital purchases while playing.
The NBA 2K game has also become the subject of the NBA 2K League, which in 2018 became the first esports tournament to be operated by one of the major North American sports leagues.
“The NBA has been an outstanding partner throughout the history of the NBA 2K franchise, contributing significantly to its unparalleled success and the ability to grow its audience around the world across a myriad of platforms and offerings,” added Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two chairman and chief executive.
“We’re thrilled to be in business with [Adam Silver] and the entire team at the NBA, and enter into the longest-ever partnership extension between our organisations. 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.”
The 2018 iteration of NBA 2K sold a record-breaking ten million units. The 2019 instalment, which was released in September, was the best-selling sports game last year in the US, according to data from the NPD Group market research company.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players’ union have announced a multi-year extension of their global partnership with Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of the NBA 2K video game.
The deal will see Take-Two’s 2K studio continue to make the NBA 2K video game franchise and other NBA-branded games, including smartphone apps.
The length and financial terms of the new contract were not officially released, but the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) claims the deal could be worth as much as US$1.1 billion over seven years.
“An entire generation of basketball fans engage and connect with NBA teams and players through NBA 2K,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver. “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.”
WSJ says that the value of the new deal is more than double the organisations’ previous agreement signed in 2011. The estimated US$1.1 billion figure, based on a percentage of sales of Take-Two’s NBA games, owes its increase to both the growing popularity of the game and the revenue generated from microtransactions, which allow gamers to make small digital purchases while playing.
The NBA 2K game has also become the subject of the NBA 2K League, which in 2018 became the first esports tournament to be operated by one of the major North American sports leagues.
“The NBA has been an outstanding partner throughout the history of the NBA 2K franchise, contributing significantly to its unparalleled success and the ability to grow its audience around the world across a myriad of platforms and offerings,” added Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two chairman and chief executive.
“We’re thrilled to be in business with [Adam Silver] and the entire team at the NBA, and enter into the longest-ever partnership extension between our organisations. 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.”
The 2018 iteration of NBA 2K sold a record-breaking ten million units. The 2019 instalment, which was released in September, was the best-selling sports game last year in the US, according to data from the NPD Group market research company.
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