In one of the latest presentations of the new edition of their award-winning basketball simulator, the NBA 2K26 development team wanted to focus attention on one of the most popular gaming experiences for fans of the series, namely THE CITY, the fantastic scenario in which to catapult our virtual player to then make him enter the Olympus of the NBA and, Why not, even in that of playgrounds.

As Erick Boenisch, VP of development at Visual Concepts, tells us, THE CITY has been completely revised from the point of view of the graphic layout, giving the game scenario a more captivating appearance and more immediate accessibility even for newbies starting from the easier landing in the different points of interest.

But let's see in detail the main innovations introduced: The first new element that catches the eye is the greater fluidity of our player's movements within the city and, for the first time, everything runs at 60 fps on our Xbox Series S and Series X. Based on the feedback received from the player community, then, the game environment has seen a restyling of the lighting with obvious positive repercussions both for matches played at night (brighter environments and, therefore, more playable) and for those played under the sun (the impact of too bright sunlight has been visibly reduced). The developers also want to emphasize that all the main locations of the city can be reached by walking and, in addition, you don't have to leave the game scenario every time to go from one "My player" to another.

The second novelty of THE CITY consists of the return of the Parks in NBA 2K26; These return to their maximum splendor reflecting those you would see live walking in the different "downtowns" of American metropolises. To access the parks, simply enter the giant glass sphere in the shape of a basketball in the center of the city's main square. Every 6 weeks a new "green" location will be added and players will be taken back in time to play in the iconic parks featured in NBA 2K16, all completely remastered; the first park that will be available is the Skyline Park, designed in a magnificent urban context. Winning the games in the parks will unlock very important rewards, especially if you manage to defeat the teams in which the PARK – MVPs play, i.e. the strongest players who play in the parks and who will be made more visible by the presence of a yellow icon with the word "MVP" shining on their heads. If you manage to defeat a Park – MVP you will earn a 5 times increased VC bonus. Matches played in parks will also grant you a flat 25% more reputation bonus throughout the year in all game modes you play with your created player.

In NBA 2K26 the CREWS were then introduced, a sort of new game mode in which you can team up with your friends or with members of the community, earning rewards in two main ways: playing matches or training with your crew in order to complete weekly objectives (there are 30 levels) and unlock outfits, logos, VC and reputation bonuses. Obviously there will also be the inevitable Leaderboards of the crews.

The fourth new feature introduced is the CHALLENGES mode. These are challenges (first those for beginners, then the daily, seasonal and perennial ones) that provide a horizontal progression on several levels. The best players, able to win all the challenges proposed, will be able to see a statue made in their image that will dominate the city center.

In NBA 2K26 then makes its appearance Pro-AM SUMMIT: it is a new gaming experience that offers the possibility of competing in team tournaments in 3 vs 3 or 5 vs 5 matches. These are events that will take place on the weekend, every three weeks; To qualify, your player's team must play at least 10 ProAM matches in the weeks leading up to the final event. Also in this case there will be the inevitable rankings that will allow you to offer rewards, gradually more substantial, for the first 10, the next 40 and, therefore, from the 51st to the 100th team in the ranking.

We also find the STREET KINGS mode: alone or with a friend you can challenge the CPU teams in a single (unlike what happened in NBA 2K25) central location of the city. By winning the challenges, our player will be able to climb up to 40 skill levels more than the initial one. Finally, our good EriK showed us what has been improved in MY COURT, our headquarters. In the video we were shown all the new opportunities for customizing our "home" with a focus on the fantastic editor that will allow us to create parquet floors and game environments more generally really tailored to our wildest imagination.

These are the main news regarding the THE CITY mode of NBA 2K26; This is only a tenth part of everything that will be in the game but the wait is now running out considering that the game is scheduled for release on September 5th.