A new college basketball video game is now in the works, 2K Games confirmed Thursday in a post on X. The company said it is developing a “college basketball experience” that will include more than 100 programs.
2K Games Announces Big Plans For 2027 And Beyond
On the same day EA Sports reportedly ended its plans for the first official college basketball game since 2009, 2K Games announced its goal to release a game in a couple of years.
“Yes, it’s true,” the company’s tweet read. “We’re working on a college basketball experience that will feature more than 100 programs from across the country, from powerhouses to Cinderella stories.
We’re going back to school. pic.twitter.com/8u1ihv5i3s
— 2K (@2K) September 5, 2025
“… More good news — you won’t have to wait long to start seeing your favorite colleges show up in the game. We’ve got big plans for 2027 and beyond, and even a few surprises coming in early 2026.”
Although the last EA Sports college basketball game was NCAA Basketball 10, the company brought back its college football game last year in the name, image, and likeness (NIL) era of college sports.
EA Sports Will Not Be Developing A College Basketball Video Game
This news also comes months after 2K teased the development of college basketball games in the future when it posted “The campus has been quiet for too long” back on June 30.
On that same day, EA Sports announced it was bringing back its college basketball video game series.
However, Matt Brown of Extra Points reported Thursday that Sean O’Brien, who is the VP of Commercial Partnerships and Licensing at EA Sports, sent a memo revealing the company rescinded its plans to move forward with a college basketball video game licensing offer.
“Given there are some schools choosing to accept the 2K Sports proposal for inclusion in NBA 2K, the offer to be included in a college basketball video game will unfortunately have to be rescinded,” the memo said.
“Everyone at EA SPORTS is disappointed that we all couldn’t find an acceptable path forward, but we appreciate your support in trying to bring a stand-alone college basketball game with all men’s and women’s Division 1 institutions and student athletes, conferences as well as the NCAA, in a way that fans have told us they want. We really appreciate your support.”
NBA 2K26 Released Sept. 5
NBA 2K has been the dominant video game series on the market for the pro level.
This news came the same day 2K Games released NBA 2K26 for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.
NBA 2K26 was officially announced on July 8. The announcement revealed that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would serve as the cover athlete of the standard edition, following his NBA MVP award and championship season.
The following day, Angel Reese was announced as the cover athlete for the WNBA edition, while Carmelo Anthony was revealed as the cover athlete for the Superstar edition.
The most expensive version, titled Leave No Doubt edition, features all three athletes on its cover.
NBA video games are what 2K has been most known for. The developer said it intends to have the same influence with its college basketball game.
“We’ve proven the quality of the basketball experience we can deliver for years, and have every intention to bring that same level of quality to college hoops,” 2K posted on X.
