2K Games Partners With NFL to Develop Non-Simulation Football Games - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 10 March 2020 / 2,424 Views

2K Games has announced it has formed a multi-year partnership with the National Football League (NFL), which includes multiple upcoming video games. This deal marks the returns of the American Football-themed 2K lineup of sports titles.

The games will be "non-simulation football game experiences" and are currently in early development. The first title will launch sometime in 2021. Specific titles, developers and release dates will be announced in the future.

"The NFL is one of the most successful sports brands in the world, known for creating incredible entertainment for fans," said 2K Games president David Ismailer. "We’re thrilled to be back in business with the NFL in a partnership that will span multiple video games centered on fun, approachable, and social experiences. It’s exciting to bring together 2K’s expertise in creating award-winning sports games with the NFL’s renowned status as a world-class entertainment and sports organization.”

NFL senior vice president of Consumer Products Joe Ruggiero added, "Expanding the NFL’s presence in the world of gaming has become a focus for the League as we look to grow the next generation of our fanbase and reviving our partnership with 2K was a natural step in that effort. 2K is a worldwide leader in sports video games, with a proven track record of creating best-in-class and award-winning games and we look forward to sharing more about the projects we are working on with them in the future."

The deal does not allow 2K Games to develop NFL-branded American Football simulation games, as Electronic Arts currently has exclusive publishing rights for those games. EA released their own statement:

"EA Sports is the exclusive publisher of NFL simulation games, and our partnership with the NFL and NFLPA remains unchanged," Electronic Arts said. "Our agreements have always allowed for non-exclusive development of non-simulation games on various platforms. Our commitment to NFL fans, which spans almost 30 years, has never been stronger, and we’re having our biggest year yet. Madden NFL 20 is the most successful game ever in the franchise, and new modes like Superstar KO and our Madden NFL eSports broadcasts are growing the fan base. We’ll be building on that momentum with more new and different experiences, on more platforms and with new ways to play, in the years to come."

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.

10 Comments

tripenfall (on 10 March 2020)

Awesome! The Switch might finally get an NFL game...

Nighthawk117 (on 10 March 2020)

This news cannot bode well for EA Tiburon.

umegames (on 10 March 2020)

Right now I'd settle for a XFL2k. anything away from EA sports is a win in my book.

KrspaceT (on 10 March 2020)

...I can't imagine that this says good things about E.A.

SanAndreasX (on 10 March 2020)

If only FIFA would follow suit and let Konami brand PES with the FIFA license. I'd love to see EA sweating.

G2ThaUNiT (on 10 March 2020)

What does it mean by "non-simulation" though? If it's not like the Madden franchise, we talking something like NFL Blitz? lol

JWeinCom G2ThaUNiT (on 10 March 2020)

TBH it sounds to me like it's a semantic distinction to get around whatever EA's contract with NFL is. It'll be interesting to see what it means in practice, but I don't think it will be that dissimilar to what Madden is.