NBA 2K22 is brimming with anticipation as a release date later this year looms with many hoping for major news soon.
With the release date looming on the horizon, here’s everything we know so far about NBA 2K22.
Latest News – New leak looks to be false alarm
The name of the game when it comes to speculation about NBA 2K22 has been leaks, with previous leaks already pointing to this year’s cover.
That continued today, with a new leak circulating an image of Luka Doncic on the cover of NBA 2K22.
While the image appeared authentic at first and is still live on the Instant Gaming website for their NBA 2K22 listing, it’s now looking like a false alarm.
Luka Doncic still looks poised to be the favorite as the NBA 2K22 cover athlete, but we may still have to wait a bit longer to see the real cover.
NBA 2K22 Release Date
At the moment, NBA 2K22’s release date is still to be announced. Based on previous releases, however, we expect it will land sometime in late September 2021.
That gives us plenty of time to enjoy NBA 2K21, and time for 2K Games to catch up with development after putting in so much work for NBA 2K21 Next Gen.
Trailer
The NBA 2K series always kicks off the excitement with a massive Announcement Trailer that gives players a brief look into the game, its release date, and possibly even a cover star reveal.
While we are far from the first NBA 2K22 trailer, in the meantime, players can enjoy the next gen graphics and gameplay of NBA 2K21 as a massive leap across the board.
Cover Star
The NBA 2K series has expanded to feature several different cover stars for different editions of its games.
That opens the door even wider for new possibilities for the NBA 2K22 cover star lineup.
The NBA season is just getting started, but you can expect its standout players to snag cover spots.
Some candidates that have yet to be on the cover of an NBA 2K game include Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Trae Young, and Bradley Beal.
There are claims that the Cover Star, or at least one of them, has been leaked – with it believed to be Dirk Nowitzki.
Demo
If NBA 2K22’s development follows the pattern of previous releases, players can expect an NBA 2K22 demo as early as August 2021.
This will give players ample time to try the game out, and if it mirrors the NBA 2K21 demo – will allow players to try out new MyPLAYER builds.
What to Expect
NBA 2K21 Next Gen was rebuilt from the ground up with a brand new collision system, the Impact Engine, driving motion and contact on the court.
NBA 2K21 badges were also entirely reworked, with plenty getting cut entirely, and new badges to take their places.
Along with this NBA 2K21 next gen introduced the massive innovation of The City, MyPLAYER builds, MyNBA, and plenty more.
READ MORE: All Active NBA 2K21 Locker Codes and Rewards
With all of these innovations, it’s hard to predict what’s to come in NBA 2K22 – and what features will be cut or reworked before the franchise’s next big drop.
Some areas that will no doubt see improvement and some level of innovation are MyCAREER, online gameplay in The Park and The Rec, and The City.
The City should be even bigger and better
One of the most exciting additions to the Next Gen release of NBA 2K21 was The City, an expanded and improved iteration of previous modes The Park and Neighborhood.
The response has been very positive, with many believing The City set NBA 2K21 apart from other sports titles with this single player experience, but NBA 2K22 can do even more.
NBA 2K21’s Next Gen releases came later than Current Gen, but NBA 2K22 now has a full development cycle to take the success of The City and make it even better, and perhaps even bigger.
Wishlist
NBA 2K21 was an absolute slam dunk, releasing new features for current and next gen consoles that will shape the series for years to come.
This gives us very high hopes for NBA 2K22.
With this in mind, we broke down a full wishlist for the top 5 things we want to see in NBA 2K22 – including less focus on VC, improving guard gameplay online, and more.
