2K Games has confirmed the end of the road for one of its annual sports titles. NBA 2K25 is being officially discontinued after December 31, 2026, and from the first day of 2027 everything that depends on 2K’s servers simply stops working. If you own the game, you’ll still be able to launch it – but a big chunk of what you bought it for will be gone.
The two dates you need to remember
2K’s announcement splits the sunset into two steps:
- October 30, 2026 – NBA 2K25 is pulled from digital storefronts and can no longer be purchased.
- December 31, 2026 – the last day online features are available. Starting January 1, 2027, the servers go dark.
Anyone who already owns the game keeps access to it. You’ll still be able to redownload NBA 2K25 and play its offline content after the shutdown. The details are laid out in 2K’s own server sunset notice.
What disappears on January 1, 2027
This is where it hurts, because the modes most people actually play are the online ones:
- MyCAREER
- MyTEAM
- Earning and using Virtual Currency
- Multiplayer and Online Leagues
- Community sharing and other features that require a connection to 2K’s servers
In other words, if your NBA 2K25 routine revolves around your MyCAREER build or your MyTEAM collection, that progress stops being accessible once the servers are switched off.
What still works after the shutdown
Offline play survives. Existing owners can keep using Play Now, MyNBA, The W and MyWNBA for as long as the game stays installed. It’s a usable basketball game – just a stripped-down version of what NBA 2K25 is today, without progression, currency or any form of online competition.
What this means for you as a player
If you’re thinking about buying NBA 2K25 right now, there’s very little reason to. The store listings vanish on October 30, 2026, and the online half of the package only has a few weeks of life left after that. Any Virtual Currency you spend between now and then is effectively on a countdown.
If you already own it and care about your MyTEAM squad or MyCAREER player, the practical advice is simple: play it while it’s still live and don’t invest more money into something that stops working on New Year’s Day 2027. The sunset is also another reminder of how temporary online-only sports titles have become – annual releases are built to be replaced, and NBA 2K28 is expected next year.
Critically, NBA 2K25 landed on a 79 Metascore on Metacritic across 41 reviews, placing it in the “Generally Favorable” range. Player reception was far rougher, with a 4.8 user score from more than 260 ratings, where criticism focused on gameplay, shooting mechanics, bugs and the heavy online focus, while presentation and sheer volume of content drew praise.
Want to keep track of where the series goes next? We cover the franchise in our NBA 2K news section, and you can check the official NBA 2K25 page for 2K’s own listings.
FAQ
Online features remain available through December 31, 2026. Starting January 1, 2027, every mode that requires a connection to 2K’s servers is shut off.
Yes. Existing owners can redownload the game and play offline modes, including Play Now, MyNBA, The W and MyWNBA.
MyCAREER, MyTEAM, multiplayer, Online Leagues, community sharing and the ability to earn Virtual Currency all go away with the server shutdown.
Only until October 30, 2026. After that date the game is removed from digital storefronts and can no longer be purchased.
Virtual Currency can no longer be earned once the servers go offline, and the modes it is tied to stop being accessible on January 1, 2027.