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(Image credit: Visual Concepts South)
A fresh, futuristic new sports game is being added to NBA 2K25 as a paid add-on, but it looks like the developers may have been taking notes fromFortnitewhen it comes to becoming a platform for other games to exist within.
Say hello to Gravity Ball – a unique new sport which the president of NBA 2K developer Visual Concepts, Greg Thomas, describes as “American-Gladiators-meets-futuristic-basketball-meets-paintball.” Players will be able to compete in 3v3 and 5v5 modes alongside friends, using power-ups and gravity-defying launch pads to soar through the air. It’s certainly no run-of-the-mill basketball game we’ve seen before, but that’s not what makes the whole situation so strange the more you look at it.
Introducing 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙡 — a new way to compete in NBA 2K25! 🔥Grab your squad and play this supercharged, gravity-defying game - available to purchase as an optional DLC!🏙️ All-new location in The City💥 3v3 and 5v5 Modes📈 Earn Season XP and VC pic.twitter.com/j0DMXMDumTOctober 16, 2024
Introducing 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙡 — a new way to compete in NBA 2K25! 🔥Grab your squad and play this supercharged, gravity-defying game - available to purchase as an optional DLC!🏙️ All-new location in The City💥 3v3 and 5v5 Modes📈 Earn Season XP and VC pic.twitter.com/j0DMXMDumTOctober 16, 2024
At first glance, it appears that Gravity Ball is simply paid DLC for NBA 2K25, and you wouldn’t be wrong to call it that, buta statementfrom Visual Concepts' president raises a few questions. Thomas refers to it as a “brand-new game” – the “newest game from Visual Concepts South,” in fact – that’s accessible via NBA 2K25’s hub area, The City. It first began as a passion project, but “we knew we needed to find a way to share it with you,” says Thomas, adding: “Leveraging NBA2K25’s platform has given us that opportunity.” This terminology makes it sound like it’s been treated in the same sort of way as Fortnite’s array of non-battle royale modes, likeLego Fortniteand Fortnite Festival, which weredescribed as “new live-service games"availablewithinFortnite when they were introduced last year.
There’s obviously a big difference here, though, in that NBA 2K25 isn’t a free game, and neither is Gravity Ball. Fortnite and all of its games, modes, or whatever you want to call them are free-to-play, so if you only care about playing Hot To Go in Festival, you can do that without having to pay for a battle royale game you have no interest in. Gravity Ball, on the other hand, will be $7.99 when it launches tomorrow, and that’s obviously for people who already own the $69.99 sports game it’ll live within. Paid DLC is one thing, but framing this as the latest game from the team behind Lego 2K Drive makes the whole thing rather questionable.
To be fair, Gravity Ball itself looks pretty fun, but it remains to be seen how successful it’ll be when locked away within another game like this. Thomas is looking forward to fans' feedback, and notes: “Good concepts deserve a chance to find an audience and shouldn’t die on the cutting room floor.”
Be sure to check out ourNBA 2K25 locker codes guideto find out how to unlock bonuses in the sports game.
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”