NBA 2K21 Next Gen Upgrade: How Does it Compare?

NBA 2K21 next-gen upgrade has everyone excited, but how will it stack up against the older tech.

According to Visual Concepts and 2K Sports, the differences should be well worth the new normal $70 price tag.

NBA 2K21 Next Gen Upgrade: How Does it Compare?

As well-documented by fans of the series, NBA 2K has historically had its biggest jumps in both graphical fidelity and gameplay when switching console generations—à la NBA 2K13 to NBA 2K14.

With just a week away from Next Gen, NBA 2K Gameplay Director Mike Wang has shed light on what to expect in terms of gameplay with three blogs focusing on the Fundamentals, Movement and Contact, and MyPlayer and AI.

First and foremost, perhaps the biggest difference for 2K players to get excited about is that the Next Gen version is reportedly rebuilt from the ground up, and not just an upscaled version with added ray tracing effects and a rehashed neighborhood.

The finer details of shooting, such as controlling the arc of jump shots, and dribbling in being able to speed up and slow down size-ups will be newly added to the game.

Improvements to the game's physics in terms of foot planting for 3-pointers, passing, and contact both on and off the ball have all been emphasized as well.

The 2K development team also seems to have put a lot of time into a new in-air contact shot system called the Impact Engine that is supposed to remedy common frustrations with the game in the past of getting "stuck" in predictable animations.

Lastly, aside from improved AI, the game's core MyPlayer mode will have an entirely reworked character builder, complete with the removal of restrictive attribute pie charts and a reimagined badge lineup.

NBA 2K21 Next Gen launches for Xbox Series X|S on Nov. 10, and PlayStation 5 on Nov. 12.