Now that the game has finally come out, we can talk about NBA 2K21 gameplay, the actual price information, its MyCareer innovations, and other assorted stuff! After all, an informed buyer is a happy buyer, and we're here to relay all the launch day info you could possibly wish for.

It wasn't long ago that we covered what little information there was about NBA 2K21 with an everything-we-know type of article. The time came and went, and here we are today with NBA 2K21 having released already! There weren't all that many info-drops beforehand, so there wasn't much to cover, either. Having said that, today we can finally offer a deeper look at what's up with 2K21! We'll try to cover all the burning questions you might have about the game in one fell swoop. In case we miss something, though, drop-in for updates later on!

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NBA 2K21 Gameplay: Has anything changed compared to 2K20?

The changes we've seen in NBA 2K21 gameplay are mostly those of the iterative kind. A major departure, however, is the shot mechanic. We'll refer to IGN's review of the game for a handy description of how it works! "The new shot meter, which requires aiming shots rather than just timing them, is used entirely with the right analog stick," said IGN's Ben Vollmer. "It requires a straight pull downward (or upward, when driving toward the basket) and then centering the stick inside of the sweet spot on the meter."

According to Vollmer - who's had plenty of experience with the digital rendition of NBA over the years - this new shot mechanic is far more challenging and engaging. "Everything feels a lot cleaner," he explained, adding that this new feature might be a response to latency issues in online matches. "Instead of trying to guess how much latency there will be with each jump shot, it should be a lot more efficient to pull back on the analog stick and aim the shot instead," said Vollmer. Sounds good, right? If you're a big fan of the traditional shot mechanic, however, fret not! It seems that both options are available for the toggle. So, basically, just go with the one you prefer!

Aside from this admittedly massive tweak, few other NBA 2K21 gameplay changes come to mind. For the most part, we've seen improvements across the board. Player spacing and animation polish, for example. If you're a long-lasting fan of the franchise, you'll be right at home!

NBA 2K21 Price: Editions and Differences

If you had any concerns about the NBA 2K21 PC price, we're happy to say that it follows the established parameters of the platform. So, if you want to buy the standard edition of the game, it will set you back a perfectly normal £49.99 / €59.99 / $59.99. You can check the game out right here at 2Game if you're interested.

There are, of course, special editions to keep in mind! The uniquely-named Special Mamba Edition, for example, is considerably pricier. It costs £79.99 / €99.99 / $99.99, but the thing to note is that it comes with a bunch of goodies to boot. Here's what they are:

• 100,000 Virtual Currency
• 10,000 MyTEAM Points
• 10 MyTEAM Tokens
• 60 MyCAREER Skill Boosts
• 30 MyCAREER Gatorade Boosts
• 40 MyTEAM Promo packs: 10x at launch, then 3x each following week
• Sapphire Damian Lillard and Zion Williamson MyTEAM Cards
• 5-pair MyCAREER Shoe Collection
• MyPLAYER backpack
• Kobe Bryant Digital Collection

Even the naysayers will have to admit: there's a heap of neat stuff to be found here. This goes doubly so if you plan to have some fun with the NBA 2K21 MyCAREER Mode!

NBA 2K21 MyCAREER Mode: What's new and what's not?

This year's MyCareer Mode brings us an all-new story: The Long Shadow. Featuring the protagonist, Junior, who needs to rise up from the proverbial shadow cast by his extremely popular father, who seems to have been something of a basketball magician. 2K has enlisted numerous high-profile actors to bring MyCareer 2021's story to life, including (but not limited to) Jesse Williams of Grey's Anatomy, and Djimon Hounsou of Guardians of the Galaxy fame. Great stuff all around, but if you were hoping for some groundbreaking tech or features, you may well end up being disappointed.

For the most part, the focus of MyCareer 2021 is on delivering a brand new story for players to insert themselves into. For better or worse, this means you're not in for many surprises, aside from those of the narrative sort. Here's the kicker, though: there's a next-gen version of NBA 2K21, and that might be a different beast entirely.

What do we know about this Next-Gen NBA 2K21?

For the most part, next-gen NBA 2K21 is a complete unknown. 2K did confirm that this is practically an entirely different game from what came out today, on September 4th. We've got virtually no clue on what this entails, exactly. We do know, however, that this next-gen build is developed specifically for the kind of hardware we'll get with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

We're not sure how that will work out for NBA 2K21, since it's already a veritable graphical powerhouse by default. Could it be a fully raytraced experience, by chance? Something else we won't even see coming? No clue, but 2K did announce that more information would be coming soon, so we'll see.

Female Basketball Players in the MyPlayer Builder

The first bit of concrete info we got about next-gen NBA 2K21 is that we'll be able to create female players to use as in-game avatars. Why virtually all of WNBA would be limited to next-gen consoles only, we do not know, but it is what it is.

Is Next-Gen NBA 2K21 coming to PC, too?

Well, that's the million-dollar question, isn't it? While there's a clear distinction between the current and next-gen consoles for 2K to separate the two editions with, there's no such difference present on PC. Will players need to purchase an optional upgrade? Is it coming as a free update to all buyers? Time will tell!

Stay tuned for more in the test order possible: bookmark the page and we'll keep you up-to-date.

Play NBA 2K21 today!