NBA 2K21 unskippable ads "will be fixed", says 2K

2K says the unskippable ads included in NBA 2K were implemented in a way the publisher "didn't intend," and that the mistake "will be fixed." In a statement on Twitter, the company addressed backlash to the way adverts were included in its latest release.

Earlier this week, players noticed an unskippable advert for the Oculus Quest 2 ahead of an in-game video. That advert appeared to run during a loading screen, but was the same length even when running from an SSD on a PC (via Stevivor). Players criticised 2K for the advert, with many noting it was appearing in a full-priced title.

In response, 2K reminded players that adverts "have been integrated into 2KTV segments" for a few years, but said that "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." As a result, the issue "will be fixed in future episodes," although there's no word on exactly when the change will be implemented.

Crucially, it doesn't sound as though the adverts will actually be going away. 2K points out that they've been in place for a while already, and that the issue here seems to be where the ad showed up, not the fact that it was there in the first place. Hopefully the placements will be more subtle in future, but it looks like in-game adverts are set to be part of the NBA 2K games for a while yet.

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