Source: 2K Sports / Visual Concepts / NBA 2K25
It's a new season and 2K Sports promises it NBA 2K25 will offer the “biggest changes” to the game engine in years.
Visual Concepts, the studio behind the NBA 2K basketball video game franchiseis all-in on ProPlay technology, which it introduced NBA 2K24 and will be used to introduce many new animations to the game.
The studio promises “the biggest change to our game engine in years,” plus an all-new dribbling system that will give players even more control than before and the ability to grab ankles.
Using ProPlay, 2K says “stops are higher, launches are more explosive,” bringing more lifelike motion to every inch of the court.
Court offense is rising
What can you take offense at? NBA 2K25 is taken to another level, thanks to many new engineers. New tools like shot cancellation, signature transition shots, shot timing profiles, Pro Stick shot rates and more make putting the ball in the basket even more fun and exciting.
ProPlay gives players a new weapon: branded shots. Per 2K, this new feature allows players to pull off new dribble-in-shot combinations that are copied directly from actual NBA footage. Moves can be performed simply by holding up the Pro Stick.
Shot cancellation will allow players to quickly switch from one shot animation to another, giving players another tool to elevate their offensive game.
Last year's shooting mechanics weren't a hit with players, but 2K hopes to fix that with shot timing profiles. New profiles allow players to customize download timing windows.
Source: 2K Sports / Visual Concepts / NBA 2K25
New options allow players to customize their ideal jump shot using visual shot capture cues in an extension of the Shot Creator suite.
It will allow players to adjust where they release the ball in the custom animation, allowing them to get comfortable and in tune with the timing window and hit more shots on the green.
Using the Pro Stick allows players to take advantage of rhythm shooting by pointing the Pro Stick down to initiate the shot, then up when the animation reaches the set point.
According to Visual Concepts, many people on the team found the new mechanic difficult before coming to appreciate it later after using it for some time. Now they are struggling to go back to the previous Pro Stick shooting mechanic.
The defense is also improving
You can't improve the offense in the game without making sure the defense can keep up. NBA 2K25 introduces a new movement system that will give defenders moves similar to attacking players using the right stick.
Players can now make faster, tighter defensive cuts, allowing them to stay ahead of Pro Stick all-stars.
To improve the matchup of shots, a dynamic weighting system replaces the static one. Shot contests are now determined by the defense's coverage at the start of the shot.
Also, perimeter and interior defense and height play key roles and determine the results of shots.
Visual Concepts is also trying to reduce your yelling at your AI teammates thanks to improvements that will provide a better in-game imitation of real-world word spacing.
This means your AI teammates should be where they're supposed to be while you're on the field, based on what the offense is running.
New learning system and book sharing
Source: 2K Sports / Visual Concepts / NBA 2K25
NBA 2K25 it will also feature book sharing, which will allow players to create and share their custom books with the community.
Learn 2K, a new learning mode, will help players adapt to all the new features and older game mechanics.
In front of NBA 2K25's launch, 2K presented a roadmap detailing the game's features and functions.
- Week of August 5: MyPlayer and MyCareer
- Week of August 12: MyNBA and The W
- Week of August 19: MyTeam
- Week of August 26: The City
- Week of September 2: Season 1 Preview and 2KBeats Soundtrack Reveal
- September 4: Early access period begins
- September 6: Global release of NBA 2K25
NBA 2K25 sounds like a refreshed experience and we can't wait to get our hands on the spades when this game drops.
You can watch the game's official trailer below.
