The upcoming arcade basketball game, NBA THE RUN, has been slated to release in June 2026. There has been no official release date given as that changes today. No, there won't be a shadow drop during Summer Games Fest, but the game will drop just after the festival in Los Angeles. Play by Play Studios will be releasing NBA THE RUN on June 9 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam. There will also be a beta test this coming weekend. Lastly, Play by Play Studios has also released the retail price for NBA THE RUN. The Standard Edition is available for $29.99.
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Two Edition to Launch for NBA THE RUN
As mentioned, NBA THE RUN will have a Standard Edition for the same price of $29.99 on all platforms. There will also be a Deluxe Edition available on June 9 for $39.99. Three additional unlocked playable characters are included with the Deluxe Edition, In our previous preview, there was mention of different versions of players, as you can expect licensed NBA players to team up individually, rather than filling full 5v5 teams as the game is 3v3.
Three additional unlocked playable characters are included with the Deluxe Edition.
The additional unlocked playable characters include Steph Curry, Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant, but these are legacy versions os the players. Curry will be the version of himself as the Golden State Warriors '09 Rookie Variant (has it really been that long?), Luka as the '18 Rookie Variant for the Dallas Mavericks, and Kevin Durant as the '07 Rookie Variant with the Seattle Supersonics. Players can expect 1000 CRED, which is the in-game currency that players can use to purchase items in the shop. These include alternate jerseys, dunk animations, taunts, badges, banners and more.
Deluxe Edition Player Bonuses
Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors ‘09 Rookie Variant
Luka Dončić Dallas Mavericks ‘18 Rookie Variant
Kevin Durant Seattle Supersonics ‘07 Rookie Variant
The Second Beta and Gameplay Launch
NBA THE RUN had a short closed beta about two weeks ago, and it was short. This weekend, a new play test will feature new players. One of these new players is the original street legend Spin Cycle. These street ball legends will overall have low ratings, but will be stellar in one area. Knockout Solos will join this beta session where each player controls their whole team of three. The previous was the Knockout Squads, which forces you to use the player you selected.
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The game modes at launch include Knockout Squads, Knockout Solos and Knockout Friends. At the heart of the game is the Run the World Tournament. This tournament is a four-round Knockout tournament where teams of three will face off on different courts around the world. Each tourney has a championship game at one of the four designated final courts. Knockout Squads will lock you to a player on a team of three, while Knockout Solos will allow you to change players. Knockout Friends is a private tournament, and the mode allows users to play against the AI, crew up with friends against the AI, or go head-to-head against anyone you want to invite. This supports up to 48 players at launch for the private tournament.
More About Play by Play Studios
Play by Play Studios consists of old heads that worked on previous EA BIG titles such as NBA Street and SSX. This is a small independent studio with NBA THE RUN being the first game. The team was working on a 3v3 basketball game, but then the NBA approached the studio with licensing allowing them to make an NBA arcade game. The idea is to pay homage to the golden age of sports games, but to design these for today's players. Play by Play Studios consists of less than 20 people that all worked on this game.