NBA 2K23 brings a number of gameplay improvements and changes this year.
After a gameplay trailer was released in the past few days, concrete information about the gameplay in NBA 2K23 has now followed.
What’s changing this year
According to 2K, the focus was on new skill moves, animations and player builds.
“We really value community feedback when deciding what the next installment of NBA 2K will look like. And this year’s gameplay innovations reflect what was most requested by the community,” promises Mike Wang , Gameplay Director at Visual Concepts.
More NBA 2K23 news:
Work has been done on the following areas and aspects:
- Throws: The most notable change this year is the introduction of throw traits, giving each Signature jump throw its own throw stats that determine its effectiveness. On top of that, there are five new shot displays to choose from, with 15 more to unlock in the seasons over the course of the coming year.
- Pro Stick Improvements: There are new gesture combinations for the Pro Stick that offer a host of new possibilities for playmakers, both when throwing and when handling the ball. There are also new commands for dunking, designed to ensure players can dunk exactly how they want without accidentally performing an unexpected skill dunk.
- Skill moves & adrenaline rushes: With the new gesture combinations, players have even more options when it comes to ball handling and throwing in the offensive arsenal. Also, as a new feature, there is the concept of adrenaline rushes to prevent over-dribbling. These boosts are consumed each time a Hard Go or Explosive Sprint Start is performed. Players will see significant penalties during the remainder of possession after they have used their three available boosts.
- Defense: There are significant updates to defensive gameplay designed to provide more realistic defense on ball and shot blocks, steals and ball strips. This year, blocks are becoming more realistic, making the outcome more predictable, with appropriate players making appropriate stops when timing their block attempts. There is also a significant improvement in ball security for good dunkers and much more.
- Badges: In the brand new tiered badge system for players on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, there are 16 badges per attribute category: eight at tier 1 and four each at tiers 2 and 3. The basic idea is that players must equip a certain number of lower tier plaques before they can use the highest tier plaques.
- Takeovers: The primary and secondary takeovers from the predecessors have remained unchanged, but the team takeover has been completely redesigned. Team Takeover works as a cooperative team system where the entire team shares a meter. The new design makes a lot more sense and is meant to better represent what it means to take on the game as a team as a unit.
- AI Gameplay: Players on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will see improved ball handling, pick and roll execution, defensive strategies, and coaching decisions from the AI.
More information can be found on the official website.
NBA 2K23 will be released on September 9, 2022 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
