Hopefully the series gets better. . .
One of the worst game rollouts we’ve seen in the history of console launches, has been NBA 2K21. From the inconsistencies of the ProAM for elite ballers like ourselves, the city freezing, the app crashing, and the few times a day corrupt file; many have returned back to last gen. Beforehand, last-gen was awful as well, as no one was able to shoot, even if you had a 90 three-ball with badges.
Today, 2K Sports and Visual concepts have done the first right thing in years; with announcing they’ve acquired HookBang Game Division. This means for NBA 2K22, there will be move developers for the alleged simulation basketball title they tout for the franchise. The reason why this is so important, is because they’re always understaffed. That affects every NBA 2K game, that launches with bugs and minimal changes every year.
This is due to annual releases, with the staff not having enough time to make drastic changes to each title. So, we never see any actual changes year-to-year, and only after 2 seasons of play. At the moment, the game is free on Xbox Game Pass; but we’re seeing more of our friends take a break from the series.
The hundreds of added developers we’ll be seeing next year, has increased our interest to see what happens. It should allow people to focus on their specific department in the game, and alleviate stress from deadlines when the game is due for submission.
The studio will operate from a to-be-announced new location in the Austin, Texas metropolitan area and plans to employ hundreds of developers to support NBA 2K, as well as the Company’s expanding publishing business. The acquisition also marks 2K’s ongoing efforts to identify talented development teams around the world to join 2K and increasing its portfolio of interactive entertainment offerings.
Founded in 2012 as a solutions-based collective of engineers, artists and designers that provide full-service software design and development for brands, agencies and technology companies, HookBang, LLC recently partnered with Visual Concepts to provide art, design and engineering support for NBA® 2K21, the standard bearer for sports simulation video games. As Visual Concepts Austin, the team will expand its efforts on the NBA 2K franchise, including platform development and live services support.