NBA 2K21 Gets Non-Skippable Ads

Video games are getting more expensive in the new generation. But 2K also found a way to increase revenue for the current-gen. In the case of NBA 2K21, in-game advertising is shown.

A few months ago EA Sports UFC 4 made headlines. The trigger was the advertisements that were displayed in the middle of the gameplay or in the reruns. Not all players were willing to come to terms with full-screen advertising for a full-price title.

The publisher Electronic Arts later stated that it wanted to offer players the best possible experience so that the integration of ads into the replay and overlay experience will not appear again in the future.

Meanwhile, 2K Games’ NBA 2K21 is lingering and the advertising is back. According to reports, the sports game contains ads that run between matches and cannot be skipped. Advertisements for Oculus Quest 2 were seen. They appeared in the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions of NBA 2K21.

In-game advertising is something we’re used to from free-to-play titles. But NBA 2K21 is a game that has to be bought at full price and can cost up to $100, depending on the edition. The NBA 2K series has been criticized in the past for its focus on monetization and microtransactions that go beyond the game’s initial cost. And the latest commercials are likely to damage the series’ reputation even further.

On Twitter, for example, a user predicted that the short-term increase in revenue will not offset the long-term damage to the brand. “I wouldn’t call it smart. The UFC games got a deal for exactly this, ” the further words .

NBA 2K21 came on the market in September 2020 and provided rather mediocre ratings. On Metacritic, based on 47 reviews, a Metascore of 68 came together. The user score, which is not always very objective, is 0.9. The next-gen versions of NBA 2K21 will release in November.

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