2K slips unskippable ads into NBA 2K21

Another week and yet another skeevy games company slipping in undesirable “features” a month post-launch. This time we have 2K games adding unskippable advertisements into NBA 2K21.

The game now forces players to watch something called “MyTEAM Season 2, Episode 7” prior to each match. Which amounts to little more than a 30 second commercial for the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset. A device which cannot even be used on the PlayStation and Xbox consoles it’s being featured on. Players are forced to watch the whole thing before gameplay resumes, which many report is longer than the game itself actually takes to load.

While ads have been common in free-to-play mobile games for some time now, gamers are questioning why they’re suddenly being added to full retail releases. Especially after the games industry successfully campaigned to raise prices to $70 USD for next gen platforms. NBA 2K has also come under fire in the past for its aggressive microtansactions, including a literal slot machine mechanic that offers chances at winning in-game perks.

Rubbing further salt into the wound is the fact that 2K only added the advertisements a month post launch. Conveniently leaving it out of reviews for the game. Rival publisher EA also got into hot water recently for doing something similar with UFC 21, which slipped in banner ads for Amazon series “The Boys” during gameplay.

For their part, EA did at least apologize and remove the offending material after an uproar. However, this once again brings up that trust issue, or lack there of, between consumers and the industry. You’d be a fool to buy any game at launch now, when this sort of thing can easily be slipped in under the welcome mat.