Who Makes Nba 2K?
We all know and love NBA 2K, but have you ever wondered who makes this amazing game? Here’s a look at the development team behind NBA 2K!
The answer may surprise you
It turns out that a Canadian company is responsible for one of the most popular basketball video games ever made. Visual Concepts, a 2K studio based in Novato, California, is the primary developer of the NBA 2K series.
The first NBA 2K game was released in 1999 for the Sega Dreamcast, and Visual Concepts has been the primary developer of the series ever since. The company has also developed other popular sports video games such as MLB 2K and NHL 2K.
While Visual Concepts is the primary developer of NBA 2K, it should be noted that other companies have contributed to the development of the series over the years. Most notably, Japanese video game development studio Yukes was responsible for developing several early entries in the series.
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City. The company was founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993 and was incorporated in May 1994. Take-Two wholly owns several major publishing labels, most notably Rockstar Games and 2K, itself comprised of the 2K Games and 2K Sports divisions. It also owns the developer behind the Grand theft Auto series, which it gained through its acquisition of British video game publisher BMG Interactive in late 1998. Its E3 2019 announcements included the additions of NBA 2K20 and WWE 2K20 to its sports offerings and a new entry in the popular Civilization strategy game franchise.
Take-Two publishes both first-party and third-party titles across a variety of gaming genres; it gained prominence with the release of Grand Theft Auto III on October 22, 2001—one of the most influential games of all time—and has maintained high levels of both critical acclaim and commercial success with subsequent releases in the Grand Theft Auto series.
Visual Concepts
2K Sports, a division of Take-Two Interactive, is the company behind the NBA 2K series of video games. The company was founded in January 2005 by Kelly Gilmore and Greg Thomas. Take-Two acquired 2K Sports in early 2007.
2K Sports’ first game was All-Pro Basketball 2005, which was released on January 11, 2005 for the Xbox. The company’s first big hit was NBA 2K6, which was released on September 26, 2006 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3. NBA 2K6 was the first game in the series to be developed by Visual Concepts, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive.
Since NBA 2K6, Visual Concepts has continued to develop the NBA 2K series. The latest game in the series is NBA 2K18, which was released on September 19, 2017 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
A team effort
There are a lot of people who work on NBA 2K, but the main developer is Visual Concepts. Visual Concepts is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, which is the company that publishes NBA 2K. So, if you’re wondering who makes NBA 2K, it’s primarily Visual Concepts.
Why it matters
In the gaming world, there are a few constants. One of those is the NBA 2K franchise by Visual Concepts. The annual release is one of the most popular basketball games every year. But who makes NBA 2K?
The answer might surprise you. While Visual Concepts is the primary developer of the game, they actually don’t hold the NBA 2K license. That belongs to Take-Two Interactive, which is the parent company of both Visual Concepts and 2K Games.
Why does this matter? Because it means that Take-Two has a lot of say in how the game is made. This includes everything from which features are included to what sort of microtransactions are in the game. And since Take-Two is also the publisher of GTA V, one of the most successful games ever made, they know a thing or two about making money from their games.
So if you’re wondering who makes NBA 2K, now you know. And if you’re a fan of the series, you can rest assured that it’s in good hands.
