2K says NBA 2K24 MyNBA is ‘the best franchise mode in sports games’

A blast from the past

NBA 2K24’s MyNBA mode is the sports game series’ most in-depth yet, 2K’s VP of NBA development Erick Boenisch told GLHF at a press conference. This year’s mode centers on the LeBron James era, where you can rise with the “Heatles” or help take them down, and Boenisch says it’s “the best franchise mode in console sports games.”

One of the features Boenisch says makes this year special is how NBA 2K24 digs deep into career eras. The team worked to make the historical experience as authentic as possible, paying great attention to detail on everything from the floors and changes in uniform style to rules and penalties – the number of free throws you get when fouled, for example.

The world’s perception of you and how fans and critics communicate it changes over the decades as well. During the 1980s, when NBA 2K24’s MyNBA mode begins, you’ll see yourself in newspaper headlines and clippings as your career picks up steam. Coverage gradually evolves through time, with newspapers giving way to old Web 1.0-style sites, and then eventually social media and Twitter.

2K Games/Visual Concepts

On the league side, Boenisch says the team took feedback that league play was too overwhelming to heart and implemented several approachability changes, in keeping with 2K24's new angle on skills. League admin can delegate tasks and roles now – one person working on trades and attributes, for instance, with another focusing on gameplay styles – without having to take on everything themselves or give up complete control. Admin in designated roles can’t change things such as players or anything outside their roles.

The goal is making league mode less time-consuming so more people can enjoy it. However, Boenisch recognizes that time commitment is only one barrier to league play. Visual Concepts takes every change in real-life NBA into account when making the next NBA 2K game, and that includes poring over minute details in each year’s collective bargaining agreements. If there’s a change in luxury taxes or salary scaling, you’ll see it reflected in NBA 2K.

Boenisch says the sheer number of moving parts and factors to consider when making trades or building a team tends to deter some players from even trying, so the dev team added League Lite mode to NBA 2K24. 

Lite mode only takes place in the modern era and does away with what Visual Concepts identified as the most significant barriers to enjoyment, including trade details such as team sentiment and salary matching. The end result is, Boenisch hopes, an approachable franchise mode that encourages more people to try it out.

NBA 2K24 launches on Sep. 8, 2023, for PS4 and PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Meanwhile, check out the top 10 early NBA 2K24 ratings to see how your favorite stacks up.