NBA 2K news: Ronnie 2K gets real on new NBA 2K27 with Wemby, Caitlin Clark, Derrick Rose as cover athletes

NBA 2K27 is officially out, and Ronnie 2K spoke with ClutchPoints about the release of the new video game this week. LOS ANGELES, CA — NBA 2K27 is officially here, and fans have already started getting a jump on the new game. Whether it's playing as LeBron James on the Phialdelphia 76ers or Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Miami Heat, gamers everywhere are locked in. The release of the game also means busy season for the face of NBA 2K, Ronnie 2K. This year's edition of NBA 2K features San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, and Chicago Bulls great Derrick Rose as cover athletes. NBA 2K hosted their annual Community Day in Los Angeles ahead of the release, inviting creators and media members to test the game out early and provide early feedback. Ronnie Singh, known as Ronnie 2K in the gaming community, was among those that attended, taking time to catch up with creators, conduct interview sessions with media, and preparing social media content for the upcoming launch. In addition to interviews with Jaylen Brown, Chet Holmgren, and Stephon Castle, Ronnie 2K spoke with ClutchPoints ahead of the launch about some of his favorite changes in this year's game. ————— Tomer Azarly: From a culture perspective, having someone like Victor Wembanyama, Caitlin Clark, and Derek Rose be the cover athletes for you guys this year, just talk to me about why they kind of embodied what you guys wanted in cover athletes. Ronnie 2K:Yeah, three very prominent names in their sport, obviously three number one draft picks. Three players that speak loud on the court very bold and they mean a lot to their particular eras. It just seemed like the perfect time to kind of put that trio together. Having Caitlin as part of the introduction to Co-Ed City is really exciting and she was so overwhelmed to hear that we were doing it now. Wemby is, how he's changed the game, how he is just really at the start of the trajectory of his development and still so overwhelmingly such a force in the league has been really great. And I've gotten to know Wemby a lot more during this campaign, the mental game surrounded by the physical game and how he values 2K in that has just been really cool to see. We were out in Paris a couple weeks ago and we did the Hoop Gambit Foundations event and we partnered chess and mindfulness and being centered around 2K. And one of the things he said was, 'when you're centered, you think 12 steps ahead, which is what speaks so well to how you play 2K.' And I was like, 'yeah, that's exactly right.' So I think putting those, it's just a great trio. Obviously, Derrick Rose speaks for himself, the career he had and his love for the game and how he's invested into youth sports now. It's very, very cool to have those three involved. Tomer Azarly: You guys introduced a bunch of new things this year. The MyCareer era is the ability to build your own female MyPlayer. Which one of the newest kind of things you guys maybe tweaked or added this year is your favorite and why? Ronnie 2K:I think getting to play MyCareer with a friend is super awesome. I mean it's something I've talked to our amazing team at Visual Concepts about a bunch, which is career is just so popular. And everybody routes through that at some point in their life cycle of playing 2K in a given year. And we need to make that social. We need to figure out a way to involve friends. And so I'm glad that has made its way. And it seems like people are really diving deep into that integration and loving that in the first couple of days. Obviously, so many other features. I mean, the eras and being able to go and change the six championship dynasty of MJ or stop Kobe-Shaq. Like, there's just so many. It's so cool to see what people are doing. And then, of course, in the city. I mean, I'm so proud and seen so many female humans playing 2K and taking great pride in and getting to represent as themselves with their own players. All of it together is packaged towards just an amazing product. And then the gameplay, I sincerely mean this. I know I'm supposed to say this every year, but I actually really have enjoyed it thoroughly. It's a lot of fun to play inside, outside, offense, defense, we're foundational in our gameplay. And it's just it's really great to share. Tomer Azarly: In playing a little bit more at home. It feels a little more unpredictable. You got to actually work to get buckets and then to defend. Article Continues Below Ronnie 2K:Yeah. It feels like there's some good stuff with sizing. If you go to the rack, it felt a little bit it didn't really matter what your size was compared to the defender. And now it really does. Like, if you're bigger, you can get to the rack against a smaller guy, like on a slash. Not so much post post ups always been really good, but it feels like with the ball in your hands, like it really makes a difference of how you position yourself and how you kind of use your strength and size. Very, very cool. Tomer Azarly: If I'm not mistaken, your career with 2K is now an adult. 18 whole years. Is that true? Ronnie 2K:They were making fun of me last night at our little happy hour the other night. They were giving me grandfather status. I didn't like that very much. Tomer Azarly: Well you're an Unc now. You're Unc. Ronnie 2K:I guess so. 18 years. This is my 19th 2K launch, which, yeah, pretty crazy. Tomer Azarly: I mean, how have you kind of just seen the game develop? I know it's such a loaded question, but from where you started, from the gameplay aspect, the graphics aspect, and then also the community building aspect as well. How have you seen that just grow to what it is now where you guys are hosting awesome Community Days and everyone's ccelebrating this. It's fun. Ronnie 2K: The cultural phenomenon that's become a 2K launch is just, it's amazing. I mean, it used to be the small little engine that could, and then I remember the frenzy around midnight launches and obviously post-COVID that doesn't really happen, but I kind of missed those pictures of lines outside GameStop, wrapped around blocks. And you just saw that growth every year. It was like, just going more and more nuts and something else would happen. Even this launch, obviously like having Community Day. Community Day was like, not only my invention, but like I was one of a couple of people that was behind the original one. And it was four people in our Novato office in some random dark conference room. Right. And to put it into now, you know, almost a hundred people from all over the world at Intuit arena where NBA players play basketball and having NBA players show up and be excited to be a part of it like Chet [Holmgren] and Stephon [Castle] and all the guys that were there last week. It's just, it's total game-changer. And we had a whole production around the hour long or 45 minute long, um, live stream. It's big time. I mean, that's the easiest way I can explain it. And it's just kudos to the great work that my former and current 2K coworkers colleagues, I've done and VC has, I mean, it's tremendous the work that they do, the, blood, sweat, and tears every single year. It's incredible. That's just nothing like it. And I know I'm saying that, you know, 38 minutes before our sister company drops, you know, the biggest thing on Netflix in so long, but I am so proud of the work that happens in these four walls every year and looking forward to year 20 next year. So it's awesome.