Remember earlier this year when Saber Interactive was set to release the arcade basketball game NBA Playgrounds 2, only for it to be indefinitely delayed at the last minute? Many fans were wondering what was going on with its lack of release. But now we’ve got an idea as the developer was just holding out for a much bigger partner.
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2K Sports has announced that it has partnered up with Saber to publish the sequel, which will now be known as NBA 2K Playgrounds 2. The game will act as a spin-off to the forthcoming NBA 2K19, providing players with the arcade thrills that they crave.
The game will release this fall for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC. Though a release date wasn’t given yet, there’s a good chance it could launch alongside the official NBA 2K game.
The game’s goal is to “complement” the bigger release, to “further expand 2K’s footprint in the basketball video game space.”
“The original NBA Playgrounds was a fantastic throwback to the glory days of arcade-action sports,” said Greg Thomas, President, Visual Concepts. “The new NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 will step up this energy and attitude big time – with a bit of added NBA 2K flair – giving fans of both franchises an exciting new way to game with friends around the world.”
“No one is more committed to bringing fans a great basketball experience than 2K. We can’t wait to share more on how we’re teaming up to make NBA 2K Playgrounds 2‘s incredible arcade action bigger and better than ever for players,” said Saber CEO Matt Karch.
Our only hope — and it’s a pretty big one — is that Saber learned its lesson from what failed in the original Playgrounds. The setup is ideal, but the gameplay was missing the smooth style that made previously released NBA Jam titles worked so well. Hopefully, under 2K’s tutelage, the team will iron out the mistakes and give us a slammin’ good time on the arcade front.
We’ll let you know once an official release date for Playgrounds 2 is confirmed.
Meanwhile, 2K’s NBA 2K19 releases on September 11 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
