2K responds to NBA’s unskippable ads controversy

A few days ago we reported that 2K had added in unskippable video advertisements into NBA 2K21 roughly one month after launch. The backlash from fans was immediate and clear, with a majority of players agreeing that the practice was unwarranted and anti-consumer. 2K has now released an official statement on the matter, promising that this will be “fixed.”

In a statement on Twitter, the NBA2K account issued a statement saying “As many are aware, in recent years ads have been integrated into 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.”

2K Community 🗣 pic.twitter.com/rvMC9z0Wft

— NBA 2K21 (@NBA2K) October 20, 2020

2K concluded by claiming that “This will be fixed in future episodes. Thanks for your continued feedback”. The ad in question was for the recently released Oculus Quest 2, and while the content of the ad itself was inoffensive, its implementation into the pre-match loading screen was seen as a step too far, especially as the loading could in theory be artificially lengthened in order to ensure the full ad plays.

Though 2K claims that it will be fixing the issue, it is currently unknown whether they will be removing ads wholesale, or whether it will simply be relocated to a different area within the game. As 2K themselves admit “in recent years ads have been integrated into 2KTV segments,” and while it is unlikely that this will change any time soon, it is good to see that the ads at least won't exist in its most egregious form.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of 2K’s statement? Are you stratified with their response? Should ads exist in any premium game? Let us know down below.

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