Kobe Bryant, and crossplay, coming to NBA 2K24

One of the greatest of all time is on the way to NBA 2K24, with Kobe Bryant and Black Mamba editions, plus 2K has revealed the game will have crossplay.

Crossing generations

When you talk about legendary NBA players, the recent past doesn’t hold many that can hold a candle to Kobe Bryant. The star was a true great of the game, and one who has featured on an NBA 2K cover before. He’s appeared a few times, including on the covers of both basic and special editions of the long-running series. Now the 18 time All-Star is back again, and ready to roll into 2K24 as both the cover star, and headliner for the Mamba Moments mode.

“As we celebrate 25 years of NBA 2K with Kobe Bryant, we commemorate his legacy and the generational impact he has had on the game of basketball,” said Greg Thomas, President at Visual Concepts. “While we mark the history of the franchise, NBA 2K24 also looks ahead to the future to bring an innovative leap in technology and the introduction of community-requested features like crossplay.”

Greg Thomas, President at developer Visual Concepts

As you might imagine, Mamba Moments is a celebration of Bryant’s career. The mode will task players with recreating “some of Kobe’s most captivating performances and progress through his transcendent journey from a young phenom to one of the greatest players of all time.” And this won’t be more of what you’re used to either, as Mamba Moments includes something called ProPLAY.

Designed to “directly translates NBA footage into NBA 2K24 gameplay”, ProPLAY should be one step up from what we’ve seen in some of 2K’s titles before. The publisher says that the fresh tech will be a “generational leap in authenticity on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S”, and if that’s true it should make for an exciting inclusion.

Crossplay and some special editions

As you can see there, true crossplay will be coming this year, though there are a few caveats. For one thing, it’ll be enabled on “new-gen” copies of the game only, so if you’re playing on a PS4 or Xbox One, you’re out of luck. On top of that, you’ll need a paid online account for your platform of choice, and of course a good internet connection.

Aside from the above too, you’ll be able to get in on NBA 2K24 in a few different ways. And those will come by way of a pair of special editions. Check out the bullets below for the full skinny on what they’ll include. From the looks of it though, fans of Bryant might want to think about grabbing one:

• The brand new, limited availability 25th Anniversary Edition will be available through September 10, 2023 for $149.99*** on PS5, PlayStation® 4 (PS4®), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. The exclusive 25th Anniversary Edition includes a 12-month subscription to NBA League Pass** courtesy of Take Two; a Summer League Pre-Order Bonus (available from July 7 – July 17, 2023)*****; 100K Virtual Currency and MyTEAM content******, including 50K MyTEAM Points; a Ruby Cover Star Kobe Bryant “Rookie Card”; an all-new 2K24 Option Pack Box; One 10-pack Box MyTEAM Promo Packs; a Kobe Bryant Cover Star Sapphire Card (24 era); 1 Diamond Shoe; 1 Ruby Coach; and a new 2-hour Double XP Coin; as well as MyCAREER content, including 15x 6 types of MyCAREER Skill Boosts; 15x 3 types of Gatorade Boosts; a 2-hour Double XP Coin; 4x MyCAREER T-Shirts; Backpack; Electric Skateboard; and Arm Sleeves a new Black Mamba MyPLAYER Capsule featuring a Black Arm Sleeve, Purple Oversized T-Shirt, a Yellow T-shirt and a Kobe Player Panel. 
• The Black Mamba Edition will be available for $99.99**** on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC; along with 100K Virtual Currency and MyTEAM content*****, including 15K MyTEAM Points; an all-new 2K24 Option Pack Box; One 10-pack Box MyTEAM Promo Packs; a Kobe Bryant Cover Star Sapphire Card (24 era); 1 Diamond Shoe; 1 Ruby Coach; and a new 2-hour Double XP Coin; as well as MyCAREER content, including 10x 6 types of MyCAREER Skill Boosts; 10x 3 types of Gatorade Boosts; a 2-hour Double XP Coin; 4x MyCAREER T-Shirts; Backpack; Electric Skateboard; and Arm Sleeves;
• The Kobe Bryant Edition will be available for $59.99**** on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC and $69.99**** on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. 
• Dual-gen access is included for the Black Mamba Edition and 25th Anniversary Edition for the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One platforms and provides a version of the game on each console generation within the same console family.

Ready to ball? NBA 2K24 will hit retail on September 8th, 2023.

*Crossplay only available on New Gen NBA 2K24. NBA 2K Account, internet connection and separate, paid online console subscription required.

** Offer only available with purchases of the NBA 2K24 25th Anniversary Edition (Digital). 25th Anniversary Edition (Digital) only available through September 10, 2023. See https://nba.2k.com/2k24/faq/ for availability details. NBA League Pass code will be delivered to the email address associated with the NBA 2K Account with which the 25th Anniversary Edition Bonus Content was redeemed within 3 days of redemption (but no earlier than October 6, 2023). If you return your purchase or do not redeem your Bonus Content before December 1, 2023, you will not receive your NBA League Pass code.  Code for NBA League Pass must be redeemed by December 31, 2023. Any codes for NBA League Pass not redeemed by such date will be void. Limit one (1) NBA League Pass code per person or account. Each code can only be used once and subsequent attempts to re-submit or re-use the same code will be void. If a person enters the same code into multiple accounts or attempts to establish multiple accounts, the code and/or account may be void. Code has no cash value. To the extent permitted by law, in-game items are provided “as is” with no warranty or guarantee. Codes cannot be substituted, transferred, sold, bartered or auctioned. If any code or redemption thereof is counterfeited, or if any part of a code is illegible, mutilated or tampered with in any way or obtained through illegitimate means, or if a code contains or reflects printing, typographical, mechanical or other errors, the code and/or redemption thereof, as applicable, will be rejected and will be deemed void and invalid. Liability for an irregular code is limited to providing another code, subject to verification of original code irregularity. NBA League Pass valid for 12 months from redemption and auto-renews monthly unless canceled prior to the renewal date at the then-current published MSRP for NBA League Pass in your territory. You will be notified in advance of auto-renew and will be able to opt-out before auto-renewal without being charged. Full auto-renewal details, including how to cancel: https://support.watch.nba.com/hc/en-us/articles/360055657714-Auto-Renewal-Policy.  Credit Card, NBA 2K Account and NBA Account required. NBA League Pass is provided by NBA Properties, Inc. NBA Properties Inc. is solely responsible and liable for the NBA League Pass service and you must accept the NBA League Pass Subscriber Agreement here for U.S.: https://www.nba.com/subscriberagreement and here for outside of the U.S.: https://www.nba.com/league-pass-termsofuse-outside-us. Offer not available in Japan, China or Belgium. NBA League Pass not available in Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast,  Libya, Kosovo, North Korea, Russia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, or Syria. See nba.2k.com/2k24/league-pass for full terms, availability, redemption and cancellation instructions.

*** Pre-Order bonus content is only available with pre-order of NBA 2K24 through Sept 7, 2023. Terms apply. For full product assortment and offer details, please visit https://nba.2K.com. Pre-order availability for the Nintendo Switch version may vary.

**** Based on 2K’s suggested retail price. Actual retail price may vary. See local retailers for more info.

 ***** Summer League Limited-Time Pre-Order Bonus Offer only available for purchases of the 25th Anniversary Edition (Digital) through July 17, 2023. MyTEAM bonus content granted once per NBA 2K Account and available to use across both console generations. Content will be automatically entitled in game at launch. Terms apply.

****** Virtual Currency and MyTEAM bonus content granted once per NBA 2K Account and available to use across both console generations.

****** For digital orders, bonus content will be automatically entitled in game. For physical orders, bonus content will be redeemed in-game via code in box.