As video game publishers adjust to a changing market, the lasting popularity of sports games could present a potential lifeline. 2K, the publisher of prominent sports titles such as “NBA 2K” and “WWE 2K,” has a head start in the race for sports properties, and it’s looking to take advantage in 2024.
On Tuesday, 2K published “Top Spin 2K25,” the latest iteration in 2K’s popular series of tennis games. It’s the first “Top Spin” title since 2011’s “Top Spin 4,” and the latest in a succession of sports games to be released by 2K over the past year. According to 2K’s official website, seven of the publishers’ last eight major releases have been sports games, including “WWE 2K24” last month.
Ahead of the release of “Top Spin 2K25,” Digiday spoke to 2K senior director of brand marketing for sports, Bryce Yang to learn more about why and how 2K is investing in its sports game portfolio.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
On the perception of 2K as a sports game publisher
Yang:
To a lot of the more mainstream public, when they think 2K, they definitely think sports. But when we look at some of the biggest franchises in 2K’s history, whether it’s “Borderlands,” “Bioshock,” “Civ[ilization],” “XCOM” — they’re actually non-sports titles. So within the endemic gaming space, I would say that a lot of them actually think of our non-sports titles, but in a more general cultural mainstream, there’s a heavy affiliation with sports. So I think it depends on who you ask.
Digiday:
Sports games are attractive to game publishers because they are able to reach beyond the usual gaming audience to better capture the attention of non-gamers who are fans of traditional sports. “NBA 2K” has practically been a rite of passage for teenagers for years, and games such as “PGA Tour 2K” are often emblazoned with the recognizable faces of star players…
