2K Sports is officially back in the college basketball video game market. After it was confirmed that EA Sports was backing out of building a game, 2K Sports released their own statement on Thursday night.

“Yes, it’s true. We’re working on a college basketball experience that will feature more than 100 programs from across the country, from powerhouses to Cinderella stories,” 2K said via social media. “Competition fuels quality at all levels, which is why our approach with college basketball ensures our partner schools, college athletes and our players all benefit.

“More good news – you won’t have to wait long to start seeing your favorite colleges show up in game. We’ve got big plans for 2027 and beyond, and even a few surprises coming in early 2026. We’ve proven the quality of the basketball experience we can deliver for years, and have every intention to bring that same level of quality to college hoops.”

How College Basketball 2K Got Here

It’s been a weird road to get to this point for college basketball and 2K. EA originally had its proposal for an exclusive game picked by the College Licensing Company (CLC) that would’ve included all Division 1 men’s and women’s college basketball programs. That game was planned to launch in 2028, but schools were hesitant to move forward with the exclusivity.

Reports then surfaced that 2K was making a stronger effort to get licensing. The company, specifically publisher Take-Two Interactive, shifted from plans to only having college teams as MyTeam DLC in NBA 2K to having a full game.

2K already has an agreement in place with UCLA, and says that more were coming soon. Over the upcoming months and year-plus, it’ll be interesting to see what schools and conferences 2K reaches agreements with.

Insider Gaming has previously reported that 2K sources felt a game could be released as early as 2027. Based on the statement from 2K, it appears that might actually be the case. Recently, more sources have suggested that there is a plan to eventually include all Division 1 programs in a game should the first game go well. That, however, is subject to change due to it being so far in the future.

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