2K does not currently have a technical system for transferring Virtual Currency between annual NBA 2K releases and does not want to introduce one under the series’ current design, according to newly unsealed testimony. The comments come from Michael O’Dwyer, vice president of product management on NBA 2K, whose deposition was reviewed by Game File as part of an ongoing lawsuit involving Take-Two Interactive and 2K. The testimony offers an unusually direct explanation for why purchased and earned VC cannot move from one year’s game into the next.
O’Dwyer said that “there is no technical solution in existence” within NBA 2K for moving VC between separate annual releases. That statement does not mean such a system would be technically impossible to build, but rather that 2K does not currently have one implemented. He also said the company has broader design reasons for keeping each annual entry separate, with every new game intended to provide players with a fresh start.
According to the testimony, 2K wants returning and new players to enter each NBA 2K release with an equal opportunity rather than allowing longtime players to immediately bring large VC balances into the next game. That approach is particularly relevant to modes where VC can be used to improve created players or purchase other in-game content. Allowing existing balances to transfer could therefore alter progression and the economy of a newly released title from its first day.
Another complication raised during the deposition involves the way NBA 2K handles purchased and earned VC. Players can obtain the currency either through real-money transactions or through gameplay, but the games do not present those balances as two visibly separate forms of currency. O’Dwyer indicated that distinguishing between purchased VC and earned VC for transfer purposes would create additional complications, while suggesting that such a split would not necessarily benefit players.
2K’s public support documentation currently confirms that VC cannot be moved from one annual NBA 2K release to another. For example, unused NBA 2K26 VC cannot be transferred into NBA 2K27. VC can be shared between generations of the same game within the same console family, however, meaning a wallet associated with the PS4 and PS5 versions of one NBA 2K entry can be shared where those versions are supported.
The testimony surfaced through a lawsuit filed in November 2023 by a minor identified as J.A., represented by his mother, against 2K Games and parent company Take-Two Interactive. The complaint alleges that players effectively lose access to purchased virtual currency when 2K eventually shuts down the online services for older games, because remaining balances cannot be redeemed, refunded or transferred into newer releases. Take-Two and 2K dispute the lawsuit’s characterization of VC as property owned by players.
Game File reports that O’Dwyer was deposed roughly a year ago, although his testimony only became public recently after a judge considered Take-Two’s requests to redact portions of the material. The newly available filings also shed light on the amount of player activity data the company can track, including when users play, which modes they use, how long they spend in them and how much they spend over time.
VC remains a major part of NBA 2K’s progression and monetization systems. Players can spend it on MyPlayer attributes, cosmetics and other content, while additional currency can be earned by playing. Because the franchise releases a new numbered entry each year, the inability to carry unused balances forward has remained a recurring source of criticism among players who purchase VC near the end of a game’s active lifecycle.
The newly unsealed testimony does not indicate that 2K plans to change that policy. Instead, it provides the clearest explanation yet of the company’s reasoning: the current games lack a transfer mechanism, and 2K prefers each annual NBA 2K release to begin with a reset economy rather than carrying player currency forward from the previous title.
