The release of NBA 2K21 last month was surely a hype-worthy one for fans, as the 2K Sports title touted a number of exciting updates such as crisper visuals, streamlined animations, and bolstered NPC AI. However, these realistic implementations haven’t exactly drawn attention away from a recent update, which introduced in-game advertisements on top of the game’s pre-game loading screen. As reported by Australian outlet Stevivor (via Game Informer), ads for Oculus Quest 2 have begun appearing across all platforms – even for PC players with SSD – with each auto-playing and completely unskippable by the player.

As one might expect, these mandatory commercial breaks haven’t gone over well with fans, especially as NBA 2K21 is being sold as a full-price $60 game. Unskippable ads are commonly associated with free-to-play games or mobile apps, so 2K Games’ decision to adopt the monetization method for a premium sports title has left many baffled and has gained considerable backlash online. The fervor built up so much that 2K has since responded to players’ concerns in a new statement, thanking fans for their feedback and promising to fix the “unintended” ad placement in future updates.

2K Community ? pic.twitter.com/rvMC9z0Wft

— NBA 2K21 (@NBA2K) October 20, 2020

As many are aware, in recent years ads have been integrated in 2KTV segments. Yesterday’s 2KTV ad placement impacted our players’ experience in a way we didn’t intend, as these ads are not meant to run as part of the pre-game introduction. This will be fixed in future episodes, thanks for your continued feedback.”

Though NBA 2K21 is surely dazzling from certain perspectives, monetization of the popular basketball simulator has received backlash pretty much from the game’s announcement. Foregoing the trend of free next-generation upgrades, the $100 Mamba Forever Edition of 2K21 was pushed as the only way to get an upgrade on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with the official versions for PS5 and Xbox Series X also selling at the increased price of $70 each. The added layer of unskippable ads was almost sure to endure criticism (especially since it’s happened before), but 2K’s recent statement suggests they are at least willing to concede for the time being.

NBA 2K21 is out now for Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and will release as a launch title for both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

What do you think? Are you upset that NBA 2K21 yet again added unskippable ads, or do you find that they aren’t that big of a deal? What’s your opinion on the $70 next-gen versions? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day! For more headlines recently featured on DFTG, check out these next few news stories:

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