NBA 2K26

Impulse GamerPaul Stuart

They’ve finally done it. 2K revamped nearly the entire NBA2K gaming experience for NBA2K26. Critics and cynics still have a beef with what does remain, that

Nintendo World ReportNeal Ronaghan

8.5/10

Overall, it’s nice to see NBA 2K26 have feature parity on Nintendo with the best version of the game again. You have to make some concessions playing it on Switch 2 as opposed to PS5 or Xbox, but it’s still impressive for what it is on this platform. Even with longer load times and slightly lesser visuals, NBA 2K26 is a gigantic game packed with a ton of variety. You can shoot hoops in all sorts of ways. You can roleplay out your dreams of running an NBA team or try to carve out your path as a player, whether it’s in the NBA or WNBA. Hopefully this is the start of another dynastic run fo…

MP1STDean James

8.5/10

The NBA 2K series has typically been one of the more consistent sports game franchises in quality, though the series did have a bit of a rough patch a couple of years ago. They did a good job at rebounding from that last year, and now NBA 2K26 aims to continue that upward swing with a game that is focused on offering players an authentic NBA experience with some smaller upgrades and a new story mode mixed in.

Gaming NexusJason Dailey

8.5/10

NBA 2K26 is another small but significant step forward for the franchise. It has never felt better to play an NBA 2K game, thanks to on-court gameplay improvements and quality-of-life fixes off the court. There is so much content that you almost have to pick a lane and stay there, while microtransactions are positioned as a fix for the FOMO you’ll inevitably feel ignoring one mode for another. But it’s still easy to recommend NBA 2K26 to hoops fans.

Analog Stick GamingLetitia Ballin.

8/10

I've only recently started playing this franchise, so my focus in this review will be on the new player experience, as those who seek out this franchise have likely already made up their mind about it. For those who don’t know, the NBA 2K franchise is a series that aims to simulate the real-life spo

The OuterHavenJames Clarkson

Each year, the NBA 2K franchise aims to raise the bar for basketball simulation, and with NBA 2K26, it feels like the series has taken another confident step forward. This is the most polished, immersive, and authentic basketball experience available, blending beautiful visuals with deep gameplay and an incredible variety…

GamingBoltMatt Bianucci

8/10

Despite an unacceptable level of microtransactions, NBA 2K26’s underlying fundamentals are improving, with a significant step forward on the court and admirable narrative attempts through Out of Bounds.

Worth PlayingRedmond Carolipio

7.9/10

NBA 2K26 is the next installment of the premier NBA video game basketball simulation series with all-new gameplay, modes and features.

WayTooManyGamesLeo Faria

7.5/10

Man, it felt weird downloading a 70GB game onto a Nintendo system, but this just made me a bit more excited to review NBA 2K26. For the past few years, I’d stick to reviewing those games on a PS4 or PS5, and they’d always be the same damn thing, be it in terms of visuals, underwhelming soundtracks, bureaucratic bootups, or immense amount of microtransactions. The act of booting an NBA 2K game up for a few matches was getting less and less exciting with each new version. This is why I was ...

Pure NintendoKirk Hiner

7/10

Of all the sports games available to us, I've always preferred basketball. This is despite the fact I don't care to watch the actual game—it's too squeaky and harshly lit. But I'm enjoying NBA 2K26 on the Switch 2.Read More

Nintendo LifePJ O'Reilly

6/10

NBA 2K26 on Switch 2 fails to deliver the 60fps gameplay we've all been holding out for. It also runs at a lower resolution than I would have expected, and its online modes, thanks to no cross-play or cross-progression are ghost towns. However, if this is your only platform, and if you are okay with 30fps, there is still a huge festival of basketball to enjoy here. This is a game packed full of fun modes, and it'll teach you everything you could ever need to know about the sport whilst giving you some fine on-court action to boot. Here's hoping for a patch down the line, but 2K26 comes off as ...

Rock Paper ShotgunMark Warren

Unscored

Am I going against my instincts by preferring when this basketball game had a huge pirate ship, which was likely at least partially responsible for 2K25 taking up about 50GB more hard drive space than the still-almost-100GB 2K26? Almost certainly, yes, but that’s what reviewing yearly sportsathons can do to a guy.