'NBA Playgrounds 2' Dev: 2K Games Has Made 'Substantial' Contributions

The original NBA Playgrounds did a good job of putting the developers at Saber Interactive on the board with the basketball community, even if the game isn't everything that it could've been. Still, that's leaving all sorts of possibilities open with the sequel, NBA 2K Playgrounds 2, which is being published by 2K Sports.

In a recent interview with Polygon, Saber CEO Matthew Karch talked about how the team was making improvements to make Playgrounds 2 an even better sequel, with 2K Sports providing "substantial" contributions to provide more forward movement.

Part of those contributions came with bigger superstars being added, including Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Karch notes that Saber wouldn't be able to get the superstars on their own, so 2K definitely lent a hand there. He also noted that the publisher helped with "character customization stuff."

That may sound like the game is entering the same microtransaction arena that NBA 2K19 is -- which a lot of fans haven't exactly been a fan of -- but Saber reiterates that everything is optional, and you can still get enough mileage out of the game without the unlocks. It did note, though, that there will be less duplicate cards to unlock this time around, promising to offer more variety in that department.

That said, Saber still has the rights to Playgrounds, even though 2K has the publishing arrangement it does since it "complements what they're doing" with NBA 2K.

"I will say that 2K is not interested in one-offs," he explained. "They see the long-term potential for this game." That's not to say we're already set to see Playgrounds 3 in the future, as Saber is focusing on one game at a time. But Karch did note that the publisher is "fully invested" in the game, hoping to push it beyond the million units that the original Playgrounds sold.

It all comes down to gameplay improvements, which, hopefully we'll see this time around. Adding online play for up to four players will certainly help it out, since the original Playgrounds didn't quite have that.

We'll find out when the game releases on October 16 for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

(Hat tip to Polygon for the scoop!)