The WNBA is Coming to NBA 2K20

NBA 2K20 is set to include the Women's National Basketball Association for the first time in the series, in both Play Now and Season modes. All 12 teams and over 140 players will make their debut, and it's already sounding like more than just another game mode.

While this was stealth-announced in a short trailer for 2K20 a while back, 2K confirmed today that the WNBA would be fully included in this year's entry. Players like Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, Amaya Valdermo Madariaga, and Maite Cazorla were all captured and scanned into 2K20, preserving not just their likeness but their playstyle and personality too.

In a blog post on the NBA 2K Facebook page, lead character artist Ann Sidenblad broke down how much work went into putting this together. New hairstyles and better hair simulation were already one challenge to accurately capture the WNBA's roster, but Sidenblad says this also doubled the usual face scan count for 2K20.

"In many ways, we felt like we were building a basketball game from the ground up," NBA 2K20 producer Felicia Steenhouse wrote. "But even as a first year effort, we were able to build a huge content library."

Rival basketball series NBA Live has had the WNBA since NBA Live 18, where Electronic Arts also did a number of face scans for the roster. But with NBA Live in limbo as it tries to sort out its future, it looks like NBA 2K is happy to step in and fill the void. It's impressive seeing this as not just a single mode, but available for Season as well.

NBA 2K20 lands on September 6, and it's looking to bring a lot of updates to the series alongside the WNBA. Between improved ball-handling tools and a Persona-like MyGM mode, developer Visual Concepts looks prepared to sit atop the virtual NBA throne once more.