The National Basketball Association and Take-Two Interactive have announced that they are starting an NBA 2K eLeague, set to beging in 2018. The NBA 2K eLeague will be the first ever to be run by a professional sports league.
The NBA 2K series has continued to take steps forward in its accurate simulation-style gameplay, and this eLeague has a chance to be very realistic. Because of the realism compared to most other sports game (Madden), this is possible and should generate a lot of interest. In NBA 2K, it’s possible to play a full 12-minute game and get realistic scores and stats at the end.
Take-Two announced that the NBA 2K eLeague will have a regular season, postseason, and championship. With eSports gaining massive popularity in recent years, and NBA 2K being among the most popular and highly-rated sports games available, the NBA and Take-Two will look to capitalize on eSports with NBA 2K eLeagues. The entire announcement can be read here.
Because of the popularity of the NBA, this can be a big win for eSports in general, as well as the NBA and Take-Two. Those that are good enough to play NBA 2K “professionally,” will get paid and it can be their full-time job.
Plenty of people will be hitting the sticks with hopes of playing NBA 2K for a living.