By requiring the 2K development team to work on the game months after the game's scheduled release date, they were able to achieve the shortest development cycle in history. During a recent preview session for NBA 2K22 MT Xbox One, a 2K developer confirmed to me that this was true.

With a planned release date of September 10 for NBA 2K22 and little information available, the game's community has speculated that the upcoming title will be delayed.2K has stated that "all editions of NBA 2K22 are currently scheduled for worldwide release on September 10, 2021, and that date has not changed since we first announced it." The first piece was written as a result of the pandemic and the impact it had on the game development industry.

Unfortunately, 2K has developed a reputation for releasing games in a state that necessitates the application of multiple patches before the game is able to operate without the presence of bugs or errors. 

What is the reason for the late release of information?
In the past, we've seen release cycles come and go, with some information rollouts arriving later than others. In the more than ten years that I've covered the franchise, and in the 22 years that NBA 2K has been in existence, this year is perhaps the most recent. Even though it is the most straightforward and logical explanation, it is still a compound explanation. 

When it comes to a game like 2K22 MT Buy, which relies on real-life scans of players and motion-capture of athletes, the restrictions that most businesses have had to endure as a result of COVID-19 could prove to be a major hindrance. On the flip side of the most practical explanation, the release of next-generation consoles in 2020 is a factor to consider.

After launching in stores just before the holidays in 2020, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S were released just as the pandemic hit its stride.2K Sports was the only developer of an annual sports series to release a completely separate and independent version of its game for each generation of gaming systems, which set them apart from the competition. While there were undoubtedly some advantages, there were also some disadvantages. However, while the next-generation version was visually stunning, it had a significant number of issues with the engine. 

It's possible that last-minute development is still taking place on the game, which would explain why information has been released at a slower rate than usual. It's all a trickle-down effect, which raises another question that may need to be addressed.

The game will not be delayed, but the development cycle has been shortened, and information has been slow to come out of the gate. The reason why this would be a concerning dynamic is simple to understand. Let's be clear: there is a difference between a bug or a game-breaking issue and things about the game that you simply don't like about it. Quite frequently, the two concepts are misunderstood. In any case, there is a lot going on on the 2K side at the same time, and we will have to wait for the retail version, or perhaps an as-yet-unannounced demo, before we can get a good sense of what is right or wrong with NBA 2K22.