2K Games

2K Games statistics

NBA 2K isn't the only trick up 2K's sleeve.

Fact-checked
Founded
January 25, 2005
Headquarters
Novato, USA
Market Cap
-
Employees
2,500

2K Games is a very popular game publisher that has produced some of the best competitive sports games in recorded memory. The most popular series within 2K Games’ portfolio is definitely NBA 2K, which has amassed millions of fans around the world and generated billions of dollars in revenue. While NBA 2K is a fantastic series and should be experienced by every gamer at least once in their lives, there is no getting around the discussion about the rest of the games that fall under the umbrella of 2K Games. Such a massive company is impossible to encompass in a few sentences, so we are going to be listing some 2K Games statistics and facts. If you’re a fan of content like this, consider taking a look at some video game industry statistics and facts as well!

2K Games key stats

The financial side of things is very important when it comes to analyzing the success of a gaming company, and the first line of stats we will be looking at is their total game sales and gross revenue. The franchise has earned billions of dollars over the years, and we are going to be taking a look at its growth over the years and how it has grown into what it is today. We can be certain that the success of a gaming company can easily be decided by how well it handles its finances, but more importantly by how it handles feedback and implements it into future games.

2K Games’ parent company Take-Two Interactive makes $3.5 billion a year.

(Sources: Macrotrends, Statista)

  • In 2011, the company had an annual income of $1.1 billion.
  • Comparing 2011 to 2022, the company has seen a 208% increase in annual revenue.
  • Their quarterly revenue in 2022 is approximately $930 million.
  • This equates to an annual profit of $480 million.

Take-Two Interactive is the parent company of 2K Games and Rockstar Games, so you can be sure that we are going to mention them as well. There aren’t many statistics for the annual revenue of 2K Games alone, but we can gauge the overall success of the company according to the success of Take-Two Interactive. As it stands, the company is very stable and it seems to be improving constantly.

The first 2K game was made by Visual Concepts Entertainment.

(Source: Game Informer Magazine)

  • The first NBA 2K game came out in 1999 for the Dreamcast with Allen Iverson on the cover.
  • Allen Iverson was on the cover of an NBA 2K game five times.
  • The early games were dated and rudimentary, but they were still quite popular for bringing a massive sport into the player’s hands.

Visual Concepts Entertainment was a fairly small game development studio that had some pretty good ambitions but was lacking the facilities and capability to branch out into the industry and realize its potential. This was a fact until 2K games acquired the company and continued to stimulate the 2K series and grow it into what it is today.

The NBA 2K League gave out $2.5 million in cash prizes.

(Source: Forbes)

  • The 2.5 million prize pool was confirmed in March 2022.
  • The 2022 prize pool was 65% higher than the previous year.
  • The total prize pool for the Finals was $1 million.
  • First place was awarded $500,000.
  • Second place was awarded $200,000.

The NBA 2K League is a virtual tournament where the best NBA 2K players from around the world can gather to test their skills and earn a good chunk of money. This tournament is 2K Games’ way of getting in touch with their community and giving them a physical medium of interaction with the best NBA 2K players. Even though the NBA 2K League is fairly new, only being established in 2018, it has been steadily growing and increasing its prize pools.

2K Games was sued for $5 million for “deceptive” loot boxes.

(Source: NME)

  • Due to a common loot box issue, 2K Games was subject to a lawsuit.
  • The basis of the lawsuit concluded that 40% of children playing their games were opening loot boxes.
  • 5% of people who bought loot boxes were spending £70 per month.
  • The negative image of loot boxes is brought about by the connection between them and gambling, which is getting more and more frowned upon in the gaming industry.

Nothing modern comes without controversy, and 2K Games is not excluded from that fact. In recent years, loot boxes have been plaguing the gaming industry by being a general hindrance and money sink for people who do not know when to say no, leading to them spending exorbitant amounts of money on virtual currency or virtual items. Some countries have even banned loot boxes from games in general, so you can understand the severity of the 2K Games situation.

2K games overview

Over the years, 2K Games has developed some true gems of the gaming industry which have become synonymous with their name. The titles range from simple adventure games to sports games to narrative-driven games that have earned fame beyond measure. We’re going to take a brief look at two of the most popular 2K video game series to bring it closer to you and provide some clarity.

The NBA 2K series has sold 135 million copies since ESPN NBA Basketball.

(Source: Fandom)

  • The title with the most sales to date is ESPN NBA Basketball with 35 million sales.
  • Based on recorded stats, the title with the least amount of sales is ESPN NBA 2K5 with 1.6 million sales.
  • NBA 2K20 had the most sales after ESPN NBA Basketball, with 14 million sales.
  • NBA 2K21 suffered a 42% decrease in copies sold compared to NBA 2K20.

The NBA 2K series has always been a smash hit for fans of competitive sports games, and it makes sense because the games have always displayed unparalleled quality and gameplay execution. leading to more and more popularity over the years. There have been no signs of NBA 2K slowing down, so we are looking forward to all the new titles due to come out in the future!

The highest-grossing NBA 2K game is NBA 2K20 with $1 billion in revenue.

(Source: TweakTown)

  • Take-Two’s consumer spending in Q1 went up by 127%, adding up to $647.53 million.
  • With a 78% increase in MyCareer users and a 108% increase in MyTeam users, NBA 2K20 had a major contribution to the overall success of Take-Two’s earnings.

The popularity of this franchise has spelled some fantastic earnings for 2K Games and Take-Two Interactive directly. The company has been seeing excellent stats and percentage profit increases in all quarters of 2020, 2021, and 2022, and we can only expect those to rise as time goes on.

The BioShock series has sold over 38 million copies since the first game.

(Source: Take-Two Interactive)

  • The game with the most copies sold is BioShock Infinite with 11 million sales.
  • BioShock managed to accumulate over 10 million sales by 2010.
  • BioShock 2 noted a “disappointing” sales period where it only accumulated between 3 and 5 million sales.

Aside from excellent competitive sports games, 2K Games has a great tendency to consistently come up with some amazing story-driven series as well. One of those series is BioShock, a first-person game series where each entry tells a heart-wrenching story with excellent pacing, story elements, and gameplay mechanics to keep you hooked. The high number of copies sold just confirms these facts.

The BioShock series has generated over $500 million for 2K Games.

(Source: GamesBeat)

  • The massive success of the series both financially and popularity-wise has led to the confirmation of a new game.
  • The working title of the next game is BioShock 4 until 2K provides us with a real name.

Although the BioShock series doesn’t pull in nearly as much money as a bigger franchise like NBA 2K, the numbers are still very impressive and they are so good that they lead to the confirmation of a new game! BioShock 4 is definitely in development and we can’t wait to find out where the story is set and what it is about!

To sum up

There you have some of the most relevant statistics and facts for 2K Games, a renowned game studio that has produced some amazing titles over the years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. We can see that since 2005, the studio has made some massive strides in the gaming industry by creating small teams that united their creative juices to come up with gems like BioShock, Mafia, Civilization, and Borderlands. These games are incredibly fun and they provide us with a solid perspective of the success of the company through their high sales and impressive revenue. We sincerely hope that you have enjoyed the information we have provided and that you have learned something new!

Sources

  • “The biggest gaming companies and what they’re worth”. Game Factory, 2019, https://www.game-factory.net/biggest-gaming-companies-theyre-worth/#3_2K_(net_worth_$3_22_billion)
  • “NBA 2K”. San Jose State University, 2018, https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=art108
  • “NBA 2K franchise helps Take-Two post a strong fiscal year 2022”. Sports Business Journal, 2022, https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Esports/Sections/Finance/2022/05/Take-Two-earnings-2K-Sports-NBA-2K-PGA-Tour-2K-Tiger-Woods.aspx
  • “Take-Two Interactive Software Revenue 2010-2022 | TTWO”. Macrotrends, 2022, https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/TTWO/take-two-interactive-software/revenue
  • “2K Games”. Fandom, 2022, https://bioshock.fandom.com/wiki/2K_Games
  • “Revenue generated by Take-Two Interactive from fiscal year 2011 to 2022”. Statista, 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/194405/revenue-of-take-two-interactive-since-2006/
  • “TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC.”. Take-Two Interactive, 2021, https://ir.take2games.com/static-files/557a2e9d-18dd-47bf-a1cd-7a82903ff967
  • “BioShock franchise sees lifetime sales of 25M copies — with 11M from Infinite alone”. GamesBeat, 2015, https://venturebeat.com/games/bioshock-franchise-sees-lifetime-sales-of-25m-copies-with-11m-from-infinite-alone/
  • “BioShock 4: everything we know about the new BioShock”. TechRadar, 2022, https://www.techradar.com/news/bioshock-4-everything-we-know-about-the-new-bioshock
  • “Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Reports Strong Results for Fiscal Year 2022”. Take-Two Interactive, 2022, https://www.take2games.com/ir/news/take-two-interactive-software-inc-reports-strong-results-21
  • “NBA 2K League Will Award $2.5 Million In Prizes During 2022 Season”. Forbes, 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/doylerader/2022/03/16/nba-2k-league-will-award-25-million-in-prizes-during-2022-season/?sh=2e901e2a571d
  • “Take-Two served lawsuit for ‘NBA 2K’ loot boxes”. NME, 2022, https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/take-two-served-lawsuit-for-nba-2k-loot-boxes-3177230
  • “NBA 2K20 made over $1 billion in less than a year”. TweakTown, 2020, https://www.tweaktown.com/news/74233/nba-2k20-made-over-1-billion-in-less-than-year/index.html
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