Days before the start of the 2024 NFL Draft, the league also drafted a new video game, announcing Tuesday the launch of “NFL 2K Playmakers,” a new mobile game created in partnership with 2K and the NFL Players Association.
EA Sports has exclusive rights to NFL simulation video games until at least 2025, but 2K, the creator of the “NBA 2K” franchise and popular NFL game “ESPN NFL 2K5,” has reached a multi-year deal with the NFLPA to produce “non-simulation games” featuring the names, jersey numbers, images and likenesses of more than 2,000 active NFL players.
“NFL 2K Playmakers” is the result of this agreement. Developed by Cat Daddy Games, which brought the “NBA 2K” franchise to mobile, the new game is billed as a “tactical card battle game,” allowing fans to collect NFL player cards, build a star list, then call plays or engage other players. arcade-style games featuring action on the field and in the stadium.
Here are the specific game modes in “NFL 2K Playmakers,” available through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store:
- Driving mode in red zone: Players “draft” a custom roster of NFL player cards, then call plays to watch players run red zone drills. A successful play call allows cards to be upgraded or higher tiered.
- Seasons Fashion: Players can accumulate additional NFL Player Cards and upgrade their roster over the course of an NFL season, calling plays to outperform their computer or online opponents and ultimately being crowned Super Bowl champions.
“NFL 2K Playmakers” is free to download, and anyone who creates a game account before May 7 will win a special launch pack, including a usable card of Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud, the virtual game’s cover athlete.