Sports games don’t get better with time.
2K Sports has confirmed _NBA 2K24_’s online services are ending soon.
As [reported](https://apptrigger.com/nba-2k24-server-sunset-coming-dec-31-01k4tkkxhjyh) by AppTrigger, _NBA 2K24_ servers are closing this December 31. _NBA 2K24_ launched last September 8, 2023.
So, for gamers who did buy the game at launch or on Early Access, they had a little over two years before those online services ended.
Most of the game’s modes have single player equivalents. So for the most part, even if you buy the game after the servers closed, you will still be able to play through most of the game.
Unlimited seems to be the biggest potential loss, as the flagship competitive multiplayer mode. In this mode, you aim to win four out of seven in a seven-game series to earn a ring.
Every game also gives you Season Points that you can keep earning for rewards. This mode is catered for people who love to play online.
Another multiplayer only mode is Salary Cap, which comes with a novel challenge. You can choose five players for your team, but you have a set budget for their salaries. Your team goes against other teams that were also built by players this way.
Triple Threat and Clutch Time are the two MyTeam modes that have both single player and multiplayer modes.
Of course, this brings up the issue of annual games with online multiplayer. And the issue is how long before game companies should remove their servers?
Gamers will of course love it if they could play their old games online forever. We do think the common default for games to have servers that last a decade is reasonable.
But in this case, 2K is dropping the servers after only two years. We can’t quite argue that this is unreasonable though.
Since 2K makes new _NBA 2K_ games every year, players expect to get the best services on the newest game when they come out. So it may seem contradictory, but the players themselves push to get less value from their games, by having servers last a short time.
And this is inherent in the business model, which you may or may not agree is fair. If 2K Sports shifted _NBA 2K_ to a generational franchise, players would not see the updates that they do push to make each annual release better.
The seeming consensus would be that _NBA 2K_ gamers are happy with this arrangement as it is now. Whether that could change depends on how trends in the industry change as well.