The NBA 2K franchise has brought joy to millions around the world over the years, but there is one major criticism that’s aimed at it: microtransactions. Just like seemingly every game these days, it’s riddled with too many of them, and a YouTuber named “2KOG” revealed he had spent over $30,000 on NBA 2K25 in less than five months.
“$32,831.68 on this game,” he said. “I’ll say it again, $32,831.68. That is absolutely ludicrous. Now I know I was making a channel, I was opening packs. Like I said, I used to have really good teams before, but I know for a fact it’s never cost me this much.”
You’d think spending so much money would at least get someone the top-tier cards, but that’s not the case. He hasn’t gotten the best cards of players like LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama, and Yao Ming.
“And y’all see all the cards that I don’t have,” he continued. “The LeBron’s, the Wemby’s, the Yao’s.”
NBA 2K13 was the first game in the franchise to feature virtual currency. You could get 10,000 VC for spending $3, which seemed like a good enough deal. Nowadays, though, $3 won’t get you anything worthwhile in the game.
Now, it should be pointed out that the games do not force you to spend real money. You don’t have to pay to advance to a certain part in NBA 2K. That said, the average user can feel compelled to spend money when competing online.
The problem, though, is that there is no guarantee you’ll get bang for your buck in a mode like MyTEAM. That was exactly what happened here, and this is far from a one-off.
These sports games feel like casinos where the player rarely, if ever, wins. NBA 2K19 senior producer Rob Jones had once told Trusted Reviews that microtransactions are an unfortunate reality of modern gaming.
“Every game, at some point, in some way, has currency, and they’re trying to get additional revenue from each player that plays the game,” Jones said. “You know, the question has to be when does it feel like it’s a straight money grab versus when does it feel like it’s value added, right?”
Critics nowadays feel this is indeed just a cash grab with little to no value. It’s unlikely things will change, though, especially with users being willing to spend money.
NBA 2K26 is set to release on Sept. 5, 2025, and it will be riddled with microtransactions.
