The City Details New Features Ahead of 'NBA 2K26' Early Access

Source: Visual Concepts / 2K / NBA 2K26

Visual Concepts heard your feedback and went into the lab to deliver what they hope is a version of The City in NBA 2K26 that won’t disappoint the 2K Community. We’re not too far from the launch of NBA 2K26 (August 29) for those with early access. When you boot it up, The City, the expansive online mode first introduced in NBA 2K14, will feature some significant changes. So what’s new? Visual Concepts set out to create a more realistic and seamless user-friendly experience for NBA 2K26’s version of The City.

The City Will Feature A New Mode Called Street Kings

Source: Visual Concepts / 2K / NBA 2K26

The main new feature is the introduction of the new game mode, Street Kings. In the mode, the actions will take place on what is described as a “collegiate-style Roman-inspired” court. These players will be able to take on CBU bosses, where they can improve their skills before taking part in Ranked Matches or MyCAREER quests. In the process, players will also have the ability to level up their MyPLAYER while seeking about 40 levels of rewards to spice up their hub and make it their own so they can stand out from other players. Street Kings also replaces the Streetball Courts that used to be around The City, and now turns it into a single area, making them easier to find due to their colorful design, so you can hop on the court quickly and take on the CPU or other online players.

Crews Return & Swap Builds Without Leaving The City

Source: Visual Concepts / 2K / NBA 2K26

NBA 2K26’s The City will feature Crews’ return, allowing players to recruit friends and other online NBA 2K26 players to form a crew with a unique logo and MyPLAYER names. You will also have the option to control the size of your Crew, opting to keep it small or expand it to a roster of up to 50 players who can be rotated in and out of online matches. With your assembled squad, you can complete weekly goals while working to reach the ranks of all 30 Crew levels. You can also earn rewards and create a unique logo and uniforms for your team. Another great feature coming to The City in NBA 2K26 is the ability to Swap Builds on the fly. So if your team needs a shooting guard, you can swap to your SG build without having to leave the game mode. Here is the rest of the new features coming to The City, as broken down by 2K.

All-New Leaderboards & Statues

Source: Visual Concepts / 2K / NBA 2K26

Scattered throughout The City, the all-new leaderboards will highlight the best of best in a number of new categories. New Mode leaderboards track and spotlight the players with the most wins across various modes and a 12-foot statue of the number one ranked MyPLAYER in each mode will appear outside of that mode’s building for ultimate bragging rights. Players can compete to become the top ranked player in their respective region with the all-new Geo Rank leaderboard and earn a custom show-off flair shown during their pre-game intro. Crew leaderboards lets everyone know which Crew is currently the best in The City.

Seasonal Parks

Source: Visual Concepts / 2K / NBA 2K26

Park makes a return with bold new features to make every season and even every day a new experience. A new Park will be introduced every season including HD remasters of all four iconic NBA 2K16 MyPARKs and will feature a realistic aesthetic with more natural and grounded real-world environments. Players can compete to become the Park MVP, go on a hot streak and get their name stamped right on the court for everyone to see or break a team’s winning streak and earn more VC with the Streak Breaker bonus. Upon launch, Season 1’s Park is a brand new locale called Skyline Park, set in a magnificent urban environment that captures the essence of hooping and competing on your favorite neighborhood courts.

The City Gets A New Layout

Source: Visual Concepts / 2K / NBA 2K26

The City features a more accessible and convenient layout helping players get on the court faster than ever. No matter where they are standing, players can see just about every area in The City and quickly go from one place to another. On PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S, players will be able to experience a smooth experience with more fluid movement and camera panning as The City will now run at 60 frames per second for the first time ever. NBA 2K26 launches on PS5, Xbox Series X & S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC on September 5.