NBA 2K21 gets unskippable ads in-game

When you watch sports on TV, there’s no shortage of ads. Commercial breaks, baked-in ads when returning from said break, and ads on the side of the court/field. It’s an ad-heavy form of entertainment and while sports games do sometimes have those ads in the background, they’re rarely front and center… with the exception of NBA 2K21.

NBA 2K21 has added unskippable in-game ads a month after release. These ads can be found during loading screens. The move was discovered by Stevivor who uploaded a video showcasing an ad for Oculus Quest 2 in NBA 2K21. They noted that the experience was the same even on PC with an SSD enabled, which typically reduces load times. Players are also unable to edit team line-ups until the ad has finished.

2K Games is now under fire for this addition, especially after doing it in last year’s title which also got hit with criticism. We’ve reached out to 2K Games for comment on the matter and to see if it’ll be included in the next-gen version.

2K Games has also been notably criticized for their microtransactions in NBA 2K. With the microtransactions and ads in a $60 game, many players are feeling frustrated by how 2K is treating them.

“I truly don’t know what to do or say anymore. A monopoly for a single genre of video games, basketball. Honestly, I don’t even think there is a way to make me want to play anymore and that truly upsets and disappoints me,” said Redditor RiddleGaming21 (via Eurogamer).

NBA 2K21 is out now on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The game will also release on Xbox Series X and PS5 on their respective launch days. The next-gen version will also be $70 as opposed to the traditional $60.