As per the yearly tradition, Visual Concepts and 2K have lifted the curtain on this year’s installment in the long-running basketball simulation video game NBA 2K. This year’s installment is expected to bring many changes as the developers have settled into the new next-gen hardware, and Visual Concepts is looking to prove why they’re still king of the court.

In a developer update released today, details were released about the long-anticipated courtside report for this year’s installment. There have been many changes and improvements over last year’s installment that should keep fans of the series invested for another iteration. On offense, new signature moves and combos, precision jump shooting, dunking in traffic, and pulling off alley-oops are implemented and more skill-based than ever. On defense, there have been many improvements as well, with a revamped shot contest and blocking system in place of last year’s defensive system.

2K is promising to support the game well after launch as well, with Seasons in modes such as MyCAREER, MyTEAM, and The W. 2K also promises that Seasons will introduce a brand new way to level up your MyPLAYER and earn prizes in the City and in the Neighborhood. MyTEAM is seeing some brand new additions and returning features as well. For starters, MyTEAM Draft mode will be making its long awaited return. New challenges and events will be happening as the year goes on.

This year, 2K will also feature cross-progression. The update reads “While NBA 2K22 will offer two unique basketball experiences across the two console generations, MyTEAM progress and collections will be transferable between consoles that are within the same platform family [ie. PlayStation®4 to PlayStation®5 and Xbox One to Xbox Series X|S – and vice versa]. VC wallet, MyTEAM Point, and MyTEAM Token balances will be transferable within the same console families as well.” Improvements will be made as well to The City (for next-gen consoles), The Neighborhood, and the all-new “2K Cruise” (for last-gen consoles) to make the community and environment feel “alive”.

Of course, new details were also revealed about MyCAREER, and how the mode will be evolving for players. “Hidden Talents” give players side ventures to further customization and flexibility for their players. Your apartment will “level up” alongside your player. While 2K did not give details on the new story, they did say that more details will come in the future.

Ultimately, there is always much to look forward to when it comes to new sports games every year. While many may say that the games remain the same over the years, 2K is always making a conscientious effort to listen to player feedback. With new hardware, it seems like Visual C0ncepts and 2K will be able to take that next step with the franchise.