NBA 2K20launched less than a week ago and it is already having a rocky start. Lately, sports games have been notorious for including a large amount of microtransactions, but it seems like the latest installment in the popular basketball franchise has taken things to a whole new level.
Fans are expressing their disgust with the game’s microtransactions by review bombing the game on Steam, where at the time of writing it is sitting at an “Overwhelmingly Negative” review score, with only 16% of the reviews being positive. Some reviewers have even gone so far as to say thatNBA 2K20’s many microtransactionsmake the game more like a casino than a basketball game.
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Microtransactions are fairly commonplace with sports games these days, andNBA 2K20is no exception. Players can spend money in many different ways, from card packs and slots to pachinko machines. The sheer number of microtransactions has the internet in an uproar. The Steam reviews are littered with scathing criticisms of the game, like “The worst version of NBA 2K I’ve played” and funnier ones such as “10/10 They put a basketball minigame in one of the best gambling simulator game on Steam!” which is one of the few “positive” reviews on the page.
NBA 2K20is not the first game to implement more casino-like practices.Grand Theft Auto Onlinenow features a full casino where players can spend in-game money (which can be bought with real money) on any number of gambling activities. The casino features horse races players can bet on, slots, blackjack, roulette, and more.Grand Theft Auto Vdidn’t receive nearly as much backlash asNBA 2K20is receiving now, though it is still online gambling. Practices like these are unfortunately a growing trend in gaming lately.
Review bombing is unfortunately pretty common, and similar instances happened with earlierNBA 2Kgames as well.NBA 2K19is still sitting at a “Mostly Negative” review score, andNBA 2K18is also sitting at “Mostly Negative.”
NBA 2K19removed loot boxesfrom the Belgian copy of the game due to Belgium’s ban on loot boxes, so something similar may happen should the United States ever implement anti-loot box legislation. Unfortunately until then fans will either have to avoid these cash-grab schemes or simply avoid NBA 2K20 altogether.
NBA 2K20is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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