UPDATE: 2K Games have issued a statement via the game’s official Twitter account, stating the ads were not intended to run before matches, and will be fixed in “future episodes.”

“As many are aware, in recent years ads have been integrated into 2KTV segments. 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. This will be fixed in future episodes.
Thanks for your continued feedback.”

Original Story:

2K Games have once again added unskippable in-game ads to a game, this time NBA 2K21.

The game is available on Windows PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, November 10th on Xbox Series X, and November 12th on PlayStation 5.

As reported by Stevivor, adverts for the Oculus Quest 2 are appearing on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions of the game. This occurs during a pre-game video dubbed “MyTEAM Season 2, Episode 7.” Even on a Windows PC with an SSD, the loading of the match is longer than the advert.

You can find video examples of these adverts via Stevivor below. The first video is on Xbox One.

The game being full price combined with having to sit through adverts and having microtransactions for in-game currency- both things usually associated with free-to-play games on mobile platforms- are the likely causes of the frustration from players.

2K Games had revealed the RRP for the game as $69.99 USD, possibly revealing the new industry standard for pricing of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X games.

NBA 2K19 also drew ire for unskippable adverts. NBA 2K20 was slated for its lootbox and microtransaction systems, featuring casino-style slot machine mechanics and high prices [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

Most recently, EA Sports disabled some in-game advertising in EA Sports UFC 4 that was added two weeks after launch. This came after “abundantly clear feedback” showed it was not welcome.