PS5-only titles include Mystic Pillars: Remastered and Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (separate from the PS4 version, which is currently available on PlayStation Plus). The sole PS4 titles are Super Neptunia RPG and LEGO DC Supervillains. Both should be backwards compatible for PS5 players, further increasing the selection of titles.

PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers can access classics like Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, Cool Boarders and God Eater Burst. All three titles are playable on PS4 and PS5 and support up-rendering, quick save, video filters and rewind. There’s also Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy for PS4, which collects the first three titles in the series and DLC, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure AllStar Battle R, a fighting game based on the well-known anime/manga series.

Former art director Brad Bowling wrote, “The games industry bloodletting continues. Today Visual Concepts Austin laid off myself and a group of very talented developers. I have had a great time over the past couple of years working with some of the finest Game Devs in the industry. Over the past 23 years of making game art, I have seen some downturns but nothing like this.”

Former associate software engineer Sydney F wrote, “After a great year of working at Visual Concepts Austin it’s sad to say I’ve been laid off as of today along with several other amazing colleagues. I will miss all of those that I worked with greatly.”

Prior to its acquisition by 2K, Visual Concepts Austin, then known as HookBang, routinely provided development support on Visual Concepts’ NBA 2K titles. Following its acquisition and subsequent rebranding, the developer continued to perform that role.

The list of developers, publishers, and companies in the industry that have laid off members of their staff (to varying degrees) is already an excruciatingly long one, just a little over a month into 2024. It includes the likes of Microsoft, Riot Games, Sega, Unity, Lost Boys Interactive, Black Forest Games, People Can Fly, CI Games, Behaviour Interactive, and Thunderful Group, among others.

It is worth noting that, while the other Free Play Days titles are only available to Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, the timed trial for Diablo 4 requires no such subscription, and will be available to all Xbox players.

The timed trial comes in light of Microsoft having recently completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The company has stated in the past, however, that it will still take a while before Activision Blizzard games will start showing up on Game Pass.

Diablo 4 was also recently released on Steam, getting Steam Deck verification along the way, coinciding with the game kicking off its second season, titled Season of Blood.

NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat 1 also performed well. It was the second best-selling game of the month and the eighth best-selling title in the US year-to-date. It also topped the PlayStation charts, ranked second on Xbox and PC and third on Nintendo Switch (despite multiple problems at launch).

The other big release for September was EA Sports FC 24, which debuted in third place. It saw “double-digit” percent growth in unit and dollar sales, per Circana executive director Mat Piscatella, compared to FIFA 23. Despite launching close to the end of the month, it’s the 14th best-selling game of the year to date.

Also, despite a troubled launch, Payday 3 still managed to rank in fifth place, while NBA 2K24 debuted in sixth and The Crew Motorfest in seventh. Check out Circana’s top 20 best-selling games based on dollar sales below.

September 2023 Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games (Dollar Sales, Excludes add-on content) pic.twitter.com/rNhAH8d8xY

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2023

Starfield was the best-selling game of September, instantly becoming the 7th best-selling game of 2023 year-to-date. Starfield ranked as the best-selling title of the month across both Xbox and PC, with PC being its lead sales platform.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2023

Mortal Kombat 1 debuted as the 2nd best-selling game of September and the #8 best-selling game of 2023 YTD. Mortal Kombat 1 was the best-selling game of the month on PlayStation platforms, placed 2nd on both Xbox and PC, and ranked 3rd on Nintendo Switch.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2023

EA Sports FC 24 was the 3rd best-selling game of September. Double-digit percentage growth was seen across both units and dollars when compared to FIFA 23’s September 2022 launch month. EA Sports FC 24 launched as the 14th best-selling game of 2023 year-to-date ending September.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2023

NOTE: This interview was conducted prior to the game’s launch.

"ProPLAY leverages cutting-edge technology to directly translate movements from real NBA games into NBA 2K24 gameplay. You’ll see and feel the difference ProPLAY makes throughout NBA 2K24."

ProPLAY has been positioned as one of NBA 2K24’s biggest features, especially where animations are concerned. How exactly does it work behind-the-scenes, and how big of an impact will it have on the moment-to-moment action on the court?

ProPLAY leverages cutting-edge technology to directly translate movements from real NBA games into NBA 2K24 gameplay. You’ll see and feel the difference ProPLAY makes throughout NBA 2K24. Shots, free throws, off-ball offense and defense, etc. – the impact of the technology permeates throughout the game delivering the most authentic NBA 2K gameplay ever.

In addition to ProPLAY, it’s been confirmed that NBA 2K24 will also be making improvements with interior defense and dribble combo controls to make the process more skill-based. Can you elaborate on what kind of an impact that will have on the gameplay?

Across the board, gameplay has been updated to be more accessible and skill-based for all players. We’ve made improvements to dribble controls that, when well-executed, will help players create separation and put defenders on their backfoot. The new dribble combo controls combined with ProPLAY, ensure that your favorite NBA handlers feel more explosive than ever before.

When it comes to defense, the key is understanding when to act on your defensive instincts and make good reads. Directional steals, contest logic, and blocking have all been revamped to be more skill based – if timed and positioned correctly, good defense can pay dividends.

Kobe fans in particular will be very excited about the Mamba Moments mode. Can you tell us a little bit more about how it works and how you’ve gone about designing it specifically around a single player’s career? How similar will the experience be, structurally speaking, to last year’s Jordan Challenge mode?

As we began developing this mode we knew we had to build a whole new experience that honored the lifetime Laker. MAMBA MOMENTS celebrates iconic moments across Kobe’s 20-year-Hall-of-Fame career. When recreating these key games from Kobe’s career, we focused on the details. From his unique mannerisms to scene setting commentary, and more, MAMBA MOMENTS is our love letter to one of basketball’s greatest competitors.

"MAMBA MOMENTS is our love letter to one of basketball’s greatest competitors."

What are the biggest improvements and changes players can expect from the MyCAREER mode in this year’s game? Specifically where the City is concerned, what can you tell us about the new play space and how significantly it will differ from what the series has done in the past?

We’re so excited that the community can finally experience the brand-new City. Set in a sun-soaked beachfront location, the brand-new City is a vibrant experience that will make players think they’re on vacation. Explore sunny water-front courts during the day and an electrifying atmosphere as night falls. New additions this year include a Streetball experience, Starting 5 mode for online 1v1 competition, new rival Affiliations with RISE and ELITE, the return of REP, and so much more.

What can you tell us about the revamped character creator? Should players expect significantly greater options when it comes to personalizing and customizing their custom character?

NBA 2K24 features new updates and changes to ensure this is our best builder yet. New to NBA 2K24, players now have the option to start with an NBA player template. These player templates are customizable and enable you to create a MyPLAYER based on your favorite NBA player or you can edit to build a MyPLAYER that represents your own unique style of play. Aesthetically, there are many new improvements user can take advantage to make their MyPLAYER look unique. Seasons will offer many additional options as well this year!

MyTEAM tends to be the mode where a great many players spend most of their time in NBA 2K games every year. With that in mind, what are the biggest changes we can expect from NBA 2K24’s offerings?

In NBA 2K24, MyTEAM will include game changing enhancements to the mode with all-new MTP upgrades and an overhaul of the XP system. MyTEAM will also feature crossplay for PS5 and XBX, and upgrades to Triple Threat Online, Clutch Time, and much more. One of our favorite new additions is the introduction of the brand new multiplayer mode, Salary Cap.

"We’re excited to eliminate barriers for friends to play together and provide the community with this long-requested crossplay feature."

Cross-play is a big addition being touted for this year’s game on current-gen consoles. What was the process like of implementing this long-requested feature, and how have you ensured that online play remains properly balanced with cross-play in mind?

Overall, we’re excited to eliminate barriers for friends to play together and provide the community with this long-requested crossplay feature. This also means shorter queues and matchmaking times across all multiplayer modes for players on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Implementing this in NBA 2K24 was a very complicated endeavor. We approached this with a mantra of delivering an experience ‘without disclaimers.’  Crossplay is supported game-wide in ALL multiplayer experiences without exception. To support ALL game modes was a multi-year effort, and I am incredibly proud of how we approached and accomplished that. We did this right, and by extension, we did right by our fans. That is most important to me.

Just Play

No matter what NBA 2K24 mode you enjoy playing, whether it is Single Player 5v5 Domination or Salary Cap, or Multiplayer Pro-AM, you will be earning XP to put towards the Season Pass, so let that be your first guide to determining what to grind.

Challenges and Quests

Daily and Weekly Challenges in NBA 2K24 are designed to keep you coming back to the game as regularly as possible, so there are several which offer Season Pass progression as well. If you have any intention of using an XP doubler, do not hand the Challenges in, until after you activate it for maximum value returned.

Quests can also aid in leveling the Season Pass, and if you can identify them all, you could potentially combine their completion with an XP doubling coin.

2XP Coins

These XP doublers are found under Manage, then XP Coins, and will give you just the boost you need to level the NBA 2K24 Season Pass. You unlock more than twenty of them, of varying durations, over the course of the Season Pass itself, with a bonus coin thrown in for NBA 2K24 pre-order owners. Be sure that you have plenty of spare time to squeeze maximum value out of each, since they begin ticking away the instant you activate them, and run for up to 30, 60, or 120 minutes.

Despite there being two distinct modes in NBA 2K24: MyTeam and MyCareer, both share the same leveling progression path. This means you can play your preferred mode at your discretion, and still get rewards in the other mode, including those Double XP Coins. 

It is recommended you strategize their use for the latter one-third of the Season Pass, around Level 27 or 28, for maximum benefit. As mentioned above you can try to get the most bang for your buck, by completing surefire Quests and Challenges while the Coin is active for the best effect.

Buy Level Skips

While not the first choice for any players, if your time does come at a premium, so the option to buy level skips for the Season Pass from the in-game store does exist.

That is everything you can possibly do to reach level 40 in the Season Pass for NBA 2K24.

Own One Of The NBA 2K24 Special Editions

This is not really a tip, but a reminder that, if you own either the NBA 2K24 25th Anniversary Edition, or the NBA 2K24 Black Mamba Edition of the game, you have got a 100K in VC waiting for you.

Login To NBA 2K24 By 30th September

According to a tweet from the official NBA 2K account on X/Twitter, if you login just once to NBA 2K24 by the 30th of September, you will be gifted 10K VC among other rewards, for the next three consecutive seasons, starting from Season 1.

Daily Login

Just the act of logging-in to NBA 2K24 each day, every day, can potentially grant you some VC if you are lucky.

Questing

Quests and Challenges are time limited activities designed to encourage you to come back everyday to complete them and a few will let you accrue some VC, all handily listed under Quest rewards. Quests must be unlocked by talking to characters.

Just Play

Almost every mode in NBA 2K24 will earn you some measure of Virtual Currency, except for MyTeam.

Locker Codes

Found under Options, Locker Codes are fun little redeemable NBA 2K24 codes to be on the lookout for, just like easter eggs. Upon entering and claiming these codes, they will give you anything from card packs to cosmetics to VC, if you are really lucky. Once again, the official NBA 2K account on X/Twitter is the source for most of these codes, but there are some other avenues as well.

Stream NBA 2KTV

Watching the weekly show through the NBA 2KTV app on the in-game Smartphone will earn you VC based on your participation in various polls or NBA 2K24 trivia questions, not unlike some of the more professional Twitch streams. It airs on Friday nights in the US, or Saturday mornings in Europe.

That is every way to earn Virtual Currency or VC in NBA 2K24 without spending a dime of real world money.

Dribbling

Dribbling is a ball control method, and is an absolute beginner set of moves to be picked up as soon as you begin playing NBA 2K24. Proper technique involves perfect use of the right stick. Some of the moves include:

• Crossover Dribble

To swap the ball between hands, swipe the right stick from right to left if the ball is in your right hand, or vice versa.

• Back Dribble

Swipe the right stick from right to left followed by down, if dribbling with the right hand, or vice versa if using the left.

• In-and-Out Dribble

Flick the right stick up, then left, if the ball is in your left hand, or vice versa.

As long as you can master the stick flicking technique as well as the timing involved, you can dribble like a professional.

Passing

Passing techniques are a step above dribbling, and make for great showy moves. Perfection requires a high passing stat for maximum effectiveness.

• Fake Pass

On Xbox the combo is Y and B. On PlayStation it is Triangle and Circle. This can also, but not necessarily, be combined with the left stick to control the direction of the fake out.

• Flashy Pass

To execute a variety of passes like Behind-the-back Pass or No-look Pass, only one button combo is needed:

Double-press B on Xbox, or Circle on PlayStation, and then aim the left stick in the direction of the receiver.

The exact kind of pass made is completely variable and based heavily on the passer’s statistics.

Bear in mind that receivers can be cornered, and the pass intercepted.

• Lead To Basket Pass

Begin by moving, then hold Y on Xbox, or Triangle on PlayStation. Next aim the pass with the left stick, and finesse this to your heart’s content till you get it right. Now let go of the held button.

Shooting

Shots are the money maker moves that you will have to master to actually score points. Shooting in NBA 2K24 consists of perfecting your timing while pressing X on Xbox, or Square on PlayStation, and observing the player’s shooting meter. Good timing leads to a brief animation confirming that it’s all net. Failure leads to a decreased chance of the shot scoring anything, and doubly so for players with poor shooting stats.

That is everything about dribbling, passing, and shooting in NBA 2K24.

2K24 uses the “24” in its title appropriately, highlighting the late Kobe Bryant and emphasizing a chase for the “Greatest of All Time” crown. Instead of a single player story mode, the campaign wraps in again with the always-online features in the 2K City. You create your player in MyCareer and immediately jump into the action as one of the most highly-touted prospects to make your debut in years, mirroring the upcoming real-life debut of Victor Wembanyama. Before starting anything, you build your dream 99 Overall player, which will generally define your play style in your early career. Your journey, then, is to become the GOAT. By playing through key games in the season and completing specific objectives, like outplaying a position rival or stopping a team losing streak, you gain GOAT points and work your way up a tier list of the greatest players ever with the ultimate goal of overtaking Jordan, LeBron, Kobe, and the rest.

"In the context of the franchise, 2K24 makes few notable improvements, and the consolidation of its major modes contributes to a feeling of going through the motions, especially with the lack of a true story and the overwhelming presence of microtransactions."

While it’s an interesting premise for a long-term view of your player, 2K24 doesn’t seem to be interested in making the quest to get there the real focus of the mode. Instead, MyCareer is effectively a stew of the career, online, and streetball modes the franchise has been developing for years, and while each of those modes are fun on their own, they don’t make a ton of sense together. As this highly touted prospect, you enter the league as a full-time starter, but while the comparable Victor Wembanyama is an 84 Overall, you begin as a 60. You’re encouraged to explore The City and play streetball, choose an affiliation, or complete other side quests to improve your character. Not only does it not make sense, however, that a supposedly generational prospect is playing competitive streetball games against men in khakis, but from this point forward, the game forces you to choose between glacial development or microtransactions. Like past years, you use VC to upgrade your character. While this isn’t new for the franchise, it may take multiple games for you to earn enough VC to upgrade one skill by one level, and games can take upwards of half an hour each. Or, of course, you can buy multiple levels worth of VC with real money, which speeds up the pace of development by an almost insulting amount and is clearly meant to be a major aspect of your experience with this game.

Even if you choose to avoid the microtransactions, the content in MyCareer is really underwhelming. There are a few voiced cutscenes sprinkled in, but I never felt any real connection to the character or reason to push forward. This isn’t a story as much as just a reason to throw you into The City to do what you want to do, and what you do hasn’t changed too much from past years. The overall MyCareer experience feels like a shoehorned inclusion of a story into an always-online open world, and the modes clash to both of their detriments.

The other key mode, MyTeam, follows a similar structure to past years. The solo and multiplayer modes are relatively short-burst games to help you build your team, and a mode like Clutch Time is still a relatively fun experience while you grind to earn VC or MyTeam Points. It’s still a bit jarring to see a longlist of objectives to unlock a single 80-something overall card, but its quick playtime makes it an easy way to jump in and make progress. MyTeam isn’t any more plagued by microtransactions than in past years, which isn’t saying much, but the new Player Market is a nominal step up from the Auction House. If you’ve played MyTeam before, you’ll be in for a very similar experience as in the past, for better or worse.

"The overall MyCareer experience feels like a shoehorned inclusion of a story into an always-online open world, and the modes clash to both of their detriments."

The only other notable gameplay mode is Mamba Moments, an opportunity to play through a collection of key games from Kobe Bryant’s career. Similar to the Jordan challenges from 2K23, you get to play moments like Game 7 of the 2010 Finals or his 55-point game against Michael Jordan. Like last year, this is a fun aside from the more substantial modes because you’re able to relive some of Kobe’s greatest games and control him in his prime. However, with only seven challenges, compared to last year’s fifteen, the mode feels a bit unfinished, especially considering it leaves out moments like Kobe’s 81-point game and his 60-point swan song to end his career.

On the court, too, 2K24 seems to have taken a step back. Shooting, for one, feels particularly inconsistent. Maybe it’s the fact that the new shooting meter takes a split second longer to appear, so you have less time to react, or maybe it’s the fact that the “excellent” timing is variable even during your shot and doesn’t tell you where it will be when you release. It all contributes to an expectation that any non-excellent release is a miss, even with some of the best shooters in the game. The AI, too, isn’t always predictable, especially when you have a player lock. Sometimes you’ll be waiting in the corner and a teammate will move right next to you, almost not noticing you’re there and penalizing you for poor spacing, or sometimes an opponent will seemingly intentionally commit a backcourt violation. I was surprised at how many times the AI had moments like this, especially considering that this hasn’t been a huge issue in my experiences with 2K in the past.

The other major talking point of 2K24 is ProPLAY, a new technology that recreates moments from real-life NBA games in 2K gameplay. It’s actually an impressive piece of the puzzle when you can recognize a star player’s signature move, and I’m excited to see how these inclusions will develop over time as the coming NBA season gets underway. However, it doesn’t make enough of an impact on the feel of the game to make a material difference, and I see it as more of an interesting addition than a real overhaul of animations.

"Aside from the expected graphical upgrade, the list of material improvements in NBA 2K24 is particularly short this year."

A few tweaks to MyTeam and the short-lived but fun Mamba Moments highlight the major sellers of 2K24 over 2K23, while a bevy of other issues, most notably the oppressive presence of microtransactions, remain or have gotten worse. The 2K series is absolutely still the most robust basketball sim on the market, and if you’re just looking for a roster update and some minor tweaks this year, then 2K24 is your game. However, with no real story to tell and no revolutionary mechanic to introduce, 2K24 is just going through the motions while it waits out a holding pattern that won’t seem to end.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Digital sales are coming later, but physical sales are out-performing Hogwarts Legacy and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The popularity of its Premium Upgrade has dropped, with sales falling by 71 percent, bringing it from seventh to 34th place. It makes sense, given that consumers can now purchase the full game.

Hogwarts Legacy sales are up by four percent week-on-week thanks to a discount promotion, bringing it to second place. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is in third, but sales were down 24 percent week-on-week. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is in a rare sixth place due to sales dropping by 23 percent.

As for new titles, NBA 2K24 debuted at seventh while Fae Farm arrived in ninth. 505 Games’ Crime Boss: Rockay City ranked out of the top ten at 22nd place. Check out the full Gfk top ten for the week ending September 9th below.