NBA 2K26
Visual Concepts · Sports, Simulation, Management
Overview
Bragging rights are on the line in MyCAREER, MyTEAM, MyNBA, The W, and Play Now. Showcase your bag of moves with hyper realism, Powered by ProPLAY™, and challenge your friends, or rivals, in NBA 2K26’s competitive modes—and leave no doubt that you wear the crown.
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POWERED BY ProPLAY™
Dominate every possession with immersive technology that directly translates NBA footage into realistic gameplay. Feel more connected to every dribble and crossover with revamped size-ups and experience fast-paced, dynamic movement with all-new ProPLAY features.
SQUAD UP IN THE CITY
Build a transcendent MyPLAYER and climb the competitive ranks to reach the pinnacle of NBA stardom in an all-new MyCAREER journey. Team up with friends in a stunning, streamlined City, earn recognition and increase your REP, and battle rival squads for Park supremacy.
UNITE STARS IN MyTEAM
Collect and compete with NBA and WNBA superstars in MyTEAM. Assemble a star-studded roster, put your dream team to the test in new single-player and multiplayer modes, and acquire new cards to make your MyTEAM fantasy a reality.
YOUR TEAM, YOUR STORY
Lead an NBA franchise as a General Manager in MyNBA. Choose from all 30 teams, experience 30 unique MyGM storylines with real-world inspiration, and chase the ultimate goal: to win a championship. Influence the future of the sport and leave an indelible mark on the league.
*Internet connection and NBA 2K Account required to redeem and use bonus content. Terms apply.
Play Now, MyNBA, and The W are available offline. All other game modes and features require Internet connection and may require online account registration (varies 13+).
From the game's Steam store page.
THE GAMEQ VERDICT9,998 reviews analyzed
What players are actually saying
1. Summary
Steam players are split on NBA 2K26. A large crowd of short reviews simply calls it good or fun. Longer reviews, some negative ones among them, describe smooth on-court play and good visuals, and say offline modes like MyNBA, Eras and MyGM are worth the money at a discount. Several players who had skipped earlier PC versions said this was the first PC release that matched the console game. The problems players describe sit mostly off the court. 16% of longer reviews bring up VC and microtransactions, mostly to complain, 11% report server or connection failures (often in MyCareer, which players say needs a live connection even when played solo), 11% describe crashes, and 11% say online modes are full of cheaters. Connection complaints spiked from mid-May 2026, and over the same weeks the weekly positive share fell from the 70s into the 60s.
Reviewers disagree on value. A good number of recommendations come with a "buy it on sale" condition, and long-time players are divided on whether the game improves on 2K25 or repeats it. Offline players who stay away from the City, REC and MyTeam mostly sound satisfied. Players who spend their time in the online modes and the VC economy write long, angry reviews about cheaters, balance and spending.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
The basketball is fun to playHigh
"Fun" appears in 17% of longer reviews and in 11% of the short ones, many of which say little more than "fun" or "good game". Positive longer reviews describe smooth movement, satisfying dunks and a game that rewards practice. One player wrote that "the actual basketball is so clean i can't help but recommend" it even with the VC grind. Some negative reviews also call the core gameplay fun before turning to crashes, servers or monetization.
Graphics, animations and presentationHigh
Comments on graphics, animations or presentation turn up in 12% of longer reviews and lean positive: some call it the best-looking 2K yet, others mention lifelike player models and enjoy the broadcast feel. Several PC players were surprised by how well it ran on high settings. A minority call the art direction flat and over-bright, or say the visuals barely changed from older entries.
Offline modes: MyNBA, Eras and MyGMMedium
Players who skip online play often recommend the game for the franchise modes (MyNBA, MyLeague, MyGM, Eras) alone: "if you stick to MYNBA, MYGYM, or just playing offline/Eras like me, it's a stellar basketball sim." Eras, which reviewers describe as a way to replay past NBA decades, gets a mixed response in the handful of reviews that name it. One newcomer to it wrote "just discovered myNBA eras. this is AWESOME", while others call it bloat or unplayable. Other complaints are narrower: MyNBA bugs and crashes a few seasons into a save, a fantasy draft some say stayed broken after a patch claimed to fix it, and missing options such as sending players to the G League in MyLeague.
A real current-gen version on PCLow
A smaller group of long-time players noted that this was the first PC release built on the current-generation console version, with the full City and modern gameplay. One wrote that "the PC ports arent an afterthought anymore!" Others said the move came with the PC problems covered below, and a few felt the hype from console footage didn't hold up on their machines.
Where players are split
MyCareerHigh
No other mode comes up in longer reviews as often as MyCareer, and opinion on it is divided. Fans praise character progression, the Out of Bounds storyline and having plenty to do. Critics point to three problems: the mode needs a working connection to 2K's servers even when played solo, upgrading a MyPlayer to a competitive level costs a lot of VC, and the story is called "cringe" by some and great by others. Several of the connection complaints come from players who only wanted to play MyCareer on their own.
Price and value: worth it on saleHigh
Price or value comes up in 20% of longer reviews, and 11% specifically bring up sales, discounts or full price. The usual message is that the game is good value at the deep discounts many reviewers paid ($10 to $20 is a typical figure) and poor value at launch price. 14% of positive longer reviews mention a sale or discount, often as a condition on the recommendation: "Only buy when the game is on sale below $20." Negative reviewers say the same thing more harshly, or regret buying even at a heavy discount once crashes or connection problems stopped them playing.
Shooting, defense and game balanceHigh
Shooting divides players. Supporters like the easier, customizable shot meter and green windows ("The new rythm shooting with stick is awesome"), and several call shooting better than in 2K25. Critics say shooting became too easy while defense stopped working. 7% of longer reviews raise contests, blow-bys or dribble spamming, describing close-outs graded as open shots ("I have my fingertips on the leather and its open"), guards dunking over crowded paints and REC games where both teams shoot near 90% from three. Players with 200+ hours raise these balance problems most often (17% of their longer reviews).
Is it better than earlier 2K games?Medium
10% of longer reviews compare 2K26 with earlier entries. Players who call it better than 2K25 or the best 2K in years point to gameplay feel, shooting and a smaller City that is quicker to get around. Others call it the same game with a roster update, a copy-paste, or a step back from older favourites. Several returning players whose last 2K was 2K22 or 2K23 were impressed by the jump.
MyTeamMedium
MyTeam comes up in 6% of longer reviews. A few enjoy it offline or through its season pass, but most comments describe it as built around card packs and spending, with poor pack odds and "pay to win" cards. Some players also report MyTeam crashes and lag in Domination.
Difficulty and slidersMedium
Offline players who discuss difficulty (5% of longer reviews) complain that the jump from Pro to All-Star is too steep. Individual reviewers add that the MyCareer difficulty they picked didn't seem to apply during Out of Bounds, or that the CPU seemed to change strength mid-game. Others find the game too easy on default settings and tune sliders themselves.
What frustrates players
VC, microtransactions and the grindHigh
VC and microtransactions draw complaints in 16% of longer reviews, the highest share of any complaint theme here, and 21% among players past 50 hours. Players describe a MyPlayer that is barely usable online without buying VC, steep upgrade costs and slow reputation progress. One newcomer shrugged it off: "it's hard to grind for VC, but honestly as a casual player, it doesn't really bother me." Offline-only players often say they can ignore VC entirely.
Servers and the forced online connectionHigh
Server and connection trouble (11% of longer reviews) changed more over time than any other theme. In reviews written from February to early May 2026 it appeared in 4% of longer reviews. From mid-May to the end of June 2026 that rose to 21%, then fell back to 8% from July onward. Players describe an error blaming Steam ("Steam is currently having issues", in one reviewer's words) while some say 2K's server status showed everything up, games lost on disconnect, and a workaround of unplugging the internet or toggling Wi-Fi before connecting: "Cant connect online unless you boot up the game and turn off the wifi and turn it on again." 3% of longer reviews object specifically that solo modes need the connection at all. In one reviewer's words, it is an "Always online game can't even maintain a connection."
Crashes and bugsHigh
Crashes or freezes come up in 11% of longer reviews, and 9% mention bugs or glitches more broadly. Reported crashes come at game launch, at the end of a finished game, in the City, during MyTeam challenges and after a couple of seasons in MyNBA, sometimes taking unsaved progress with them. A few report GPU error codes, endless loading on the NBA/WNBA logo screen, and controllers that stop responding mid-game. Crash complaints appear at similar rates among players with under 5 hours and players with hundreds of hours.
Cheaters in online modesMedium
"The Park is run by cheaters," one reviewer wrote, and 11% of longer reviews say something similar about online play, citing Zen and Cronus devices, auto-green shooting and "speed boost" builds with maxed attributes. The complaint covers REC, the Park and the Theater, and comes up far more often among players past 200 hours (26% of their longer reviews). It was most frequent in reviews written from February to early May 2026 (14% of longer reviews) and less frequent after that (7% to 8%). A minority of regular online players say they rarely or never met one.
PC performance and stutterMedium
PC performance comes up in 9% of longer reviews: stutter, frame drops and lag spikes, several of them in the City and Park on high-end hardware. Individual reports add a "LOW VRAM" warning at higher settings, CPU spikes and heavy lag spikes in MyNBA after one update. Others report the game running smoothly at high frame rates, so experiences vary by machine. Steam Deck and Linux players report stutter and hard freezes under Proton.
Online community, the City and teammatesMedium
The City, Park, REC or Pro-Am come up in 8% of longer reviews and teammates in 3%, mostly in negative terms. Online regulars complain about teammates who never pass and take contested shots, and about lag and input delay online. Offline and MyCareer players complain about AI teammates who don't defend, leave shooters open and get lost on screens ("my teammates are like a headless chicken"). Some MyCareer players simply don't want the City between them and their games.
Unskippable cutscenes, menus and walking aroundMedium
Cutscenes, loading, menus and walking to a game draw complaints in 6% of longer reviews, rising to 12% among players reviewing with under 5 hours. They describe bench cutscenes after every quarter and timeout that can't be skipped ("SKIP BUTTON IS NOT WORKING IN ANY MODE"), a forced opening sequence, and having to cross "the fortniteesque hellscape that exists outside the arena" before playing.
Shader compilation and loadingLow
Shader building draws complaints in 4% of longer reviews, rising to 13% among players reviewing with under 5 hours. Players report waits of 30 minutes to over an hour on first launch, after updates and sometimes after every restart. Several note that this time counts toward Steam's two-hour refund window, leaving them unable to refund a game they barely played: "it will load content (building shader) for hours."
Bans without explanationLow
Bans come up in 4% of longer reviews, mostly from players with 50+ hours. Some say they were permanently banned while only playing offline or single-player modes and got no reason beyond a Terms of Service breach: "I only play MyCAREER against the computer and have never played online against other players, yet I still received a permanent ban." Others report temporary bans for leaving games and anti-cheat flags they say were triggered by normal background programs.
No crossplay and a thin PC player poolLow
3% of longer reviews ask for crossplay. PC players say matchmaking takes minutes, they meet the same opponents repeatedly ("playing the same usernames over and over") and they can't play with friends on PlayStation. Some advise buying on console instead for online play.
3. The player conversation
Most reviews are one-liners ("good", "fun", "peak") that recommend the game without explaining why. The written reviews are far more negative (36% positive) and often come from people who hit a wall: a connection error, a crash, a cheater, or a VC paywall. Some of those critics still say the basketball itself is enjoyable, and their anger is aimed at what stops them playing it or makes progress expensive.
Players reviewing with under 5 hours write more about shader compilation, cutscenes and loading than any other group. Players with 200+ hours write about cheaters, VC costs, defensive balance, the REC and Park community, and bans. Connection failures and crashes come up at similar rates in every group. Offline franchise players mostly sound content, and MyCareer players sit in between: they like the mode but resent its online requirement and VC costs.
From February to early May 2026, weekly positive shares sat between 71% and 80%. They dropped to between 62% and 71% from mid-May through June 2026, the same weeks connection complaints spiked, and ranged from 62% to 79% from July onward as those complaints faded. Cheating complaints fell over the same period.
4. What the developers could do
- Fix the PC connection failures and let single-player modes run offline. Connection trouble reached 21% of longer reviews from mid-May to the end of June 2026, and players singled out solo MyCareer refusing to start without 2K's servers.
- Stop the crashes at launch, after games and in long MyNBA saves. 11% of longer reviews describe crashes, sometimes costing progress, at similar rates across every playtime group.
- Lower VC upgrade costs and make MyPlayer progress achievable without spending. VC and microtransactions draw complaints in 16% of longer reviews, and players single out the cost of reaching a usable overall for online play.
- Step up anti-cheat enforcement in REC, the Park and the Theater. 11% of longer reviews, and 26% of longer reviews from players past 200 hours, say Zen devices and modded builds ruin online play on PC.
- Cut shader compilation time and stop it from re-running after restarts. New players report waits of up to an hour or more, which they say eat Steam's two-hour refund window before they have played a game.
- Rebalance contests and defense, and improve AI teammate defense. Long-time players describe close-outs graded as open and dribble spam that can't be stopped, while offline players describe AI teammates who leave shooters open.
- Make all cutscenes skippable and offer a faster route into games. Players with under 5 hours complain about unskippable bench scenes, forced intros and walking through the City before they can play.
- Explain bans and review appeals properly. Players who say they only played offline describe permanent bans with no stated reason and slow appeals.
