NBA 2K23 was released on all platforms on September 9th and the NBA 2K PC community has been eagerly awaiting details of NBA 2K23 on PC these months. Unfortunately 2K has confirmed that the version of NBA 2K23 Next-Gen won´t be on PC.
Many PC users will be disappointed because the Steam and Epic Games version won´t be the Next-Gen version available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. As 2K has shared on Twitter, when they have revealed the NBA 2K23 ratings of many players, NBA 2K23 next-gen looks amazing, but PC gamers will have to settle for another year with a similar experience to last year.
Is NBA 2K23 Next Gen on PC?
The NBA 2K23 version on PC for Steam and Epic Games is not next-gen. 2K has answered this question via the NBA 2K23's FAQ page. “This is something the team is passionate about and will continue to investigate what is possible for the franchise in the future. For now, the focus was on assuring NBA 2K23 was optimized for the new consoles (PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S), while also making sure the experience remains fresh and innovative for players on other platforms.”
If we look back, 2K introduced NBA 2K14 in 2013 as the first video game for the new generation: PS4 and Xbox One. At that time, NBA 2K14 for PC was still considered as an old gen version, similar to the PS3 version and Xbox 360. A year later, 2K decided to opt to bring the new version to PC with NBA 2K15. However, it seems that 2K has not yet decided to bet on the new gen on PC. Some of the reasons could be that NBA 2K on PC is plagued by cheaters and the number of games sold is much lower than the version of next gen consoles.
Reasons why NBA 2K23 should be next-gen on PC
There are many reasons why NBA 2K23 should be next gen on PC in the near future. The main factor in favor of PC users is that the PC Gaming industry is growing tremendously in recent years. According to a market analytics report by the NPD Group, consumers are spending more and more on gaming hardware and accessories.
In 2021, PC gaming industry grew to more than $5.74 billion and it´s expected to grow to $10.8 billion this year. This is one of the keys that shows that the PC has gone from being a secondary platform to being the main platform in many homes.
With that said, It's something that 2K needs to consider ahead of NBA 2K24 as EA has taken a firm step forward and after several years of waiting, they will finally release FIFA 23 next-gen on PC. Let's point out here the reasons why 2K should bring the next gen version of NBA 2K24 to PC next year:
1. Currently the PC is the main gaming platform for many gamers. In addition, the appearance of the new Steam Deck console further enhances the PC Gaming sector.
2. Many of the PCs that consumers buy have similar or even better performance than next-gen consoles.
3. Both NBA 2K21 and NBA 2K22 are considered "current-gen or old-gen" on PC, a third year in a row with this version would be quite frustrating for many NBA 2K fans who choose to play on PC. Otherwise, if 2K finally bets on the Next-Gen version, it would get a higher number of sales and new users in the community.
4. The NBA 2K modding community on PC is one of the most talented communities in sports video games. Over the last few years we have seen how some modders have managed to improve the graphic aspect with outstanding details.
Many of these "mods" have been the reason for many viral videos shared by major sports media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok.
With a next-gen version available to this community, the mods would achieve detail never seen before, and capture the attention of potential new buyers on this platform. Many users would buy the game on both console and PC.
For now we have to wait, but if 2K takes into account these factors, we could see NBA 2K on next gen soon. Stay tuned and subscribe to the YouTube channel here so you don't miss anything about NBA 2K22 and NBA 2K23 on PC.