With 2K Games partnering with Saber Interactive to publish its NBA Jam-style throwback under the 2K banner. The classic over-the-top two-on-two basketball arcade action of Playgrounds is being touted as complimentary to the NBA 2K franchise.

“The original NBA Playgrounds was a fantastic throwback to the glory days of arcade-action sports,” said Greg Thomas, President, Visual Concepts. “The new NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 will step up this energy and attitude big time – with a bit of added NBA 2K flair – giving fans of both franchises an exciting new way to game with friends around the world.”

Here's the debut trailer from three months ago without the added 2K in the title.



“No one is more committed to bringing fans a great basketball experience than 2K. We can’t wait to share more on how we’re teaming up to make NBA 2K Playgrounds 2’s incredible arcade action bigger and better than ever for players,” said Saber CEO Matt Karch.

NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 has a release window of Spring 2018 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC. Even if it's a simple publisher switch, the added weight of the 2K label will no doubt lead to a bigger audience for the series.