Granted, September really is one of those months that just belongs to sports games, and luckily, September 2025 doesn’t seem to be an exception. Playstation confirmed fresh details for NBA 2K26, including some cool hands-on impressions of new gameplay as well as the reveal of a brand-new PS5 bundle launching alongside the game on September 5th.
Playstation blog dropped the first official gameplay write-up, giving fans of the game an in-depth look at how 2K is evolving its basketball juggernaut for the new season.
Smoother animations, a completely revamped defense mechanic (much needed) and smarter AI. That looks like a huge leap. And with the PS5 bundle announcement following just after, Sony seems to be counting on NBA 2K’s allure as a system-seller par excellence.
NBA 2K26 Gameplay Impressions Reinforce Hope
If you’re a long time fan of the basketball series, you already know one thing: 2K26 isn’t going to reinvent the wheel. Rather, it’s probably aiming for refinement and tightening what’s already good, but could be…well, tighter. Animations in contested dives and shot-blocking have been improved visibly and players reportedly feel a little heavier on their feet, making for a sleek but realistic experience.
As mentioned, defensive systems also got some love, it appears. AI defenders were notoriously unreliable in recent updates, but they now seem to adapt better to human-controlled movement and cutting down on cheesy exploits, which are hard to predict – if you’re no computer, that is.
It’s relatively clear that the devs want this year’s outing to reward basketball smarts and thought-out tactics just as much as trigger-happy reflexes, which is a good thing – there are all different kinds of players, are all.
Realism and Atmosphere At the Center of Attention
Other than your usual gameplay tweaks and the much-needed meta changes, the overall presentation is once again a huge selling point of the series. And what serves the atmosphere more than new, cool and expanded commentary to keep the matches feel like a fresh coat of paint each time you start one up.
For long-time 2K players, this might feel like just another step towards hyper-realism, which, admittedly, the devs are definitely aiming for. But it’s a little more than that; it’s a sign that the developers are giving this series the love and care it arguably deserves. True, 2K has recently been accused of resting on its previous success, but this hands-on impression shows, that that couldn’t be further from the truth.
2K25 impressed with its women’s basketball gameplay in particular, but it is hoped the overall gameplay runs that little bit smoother this year with notable AI upgrades.
NBA 2K26 Release Date
If you’re looking for more practical news, the announcement of the PS5 NBA 2K26 bundle should satisfy your hunger. Even more practical, this deal will start on September the 5th, will include a standard PS5, a copy of NBA 2K26 and some neat – albeit digital – extras tied to the game’s in-game currency and, yes, the dreaded (or loved) MyTeam mode.
The downside of that news is, that Sony hasn’t shared any regional pricing yet. Obviously this deal is aimed at first-time PS5 buyers, but we can see it being a diehard basketball fan’s dream as well, so the audience might be a little broader than originally anticipated.
