Does NBA 2K23 PC Have The City? No, But Here‘s What You Get Instead
As a passionate NBA 2K gamer and content creator, one of the most common questions I‘ve been getting lately is "Does the PC version of NBA 2K23 include The City?"
The short answer is no. Unfortunately, The City remains exclusive to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S next-gen console versions in NBA 2K23.
However, there is still an awesome online MyCareer experience for PC players – just with a different hub world called the Neighborhood instead. In this in-depth guide, I‘ll break down exactly what you get on PC, how it compares to The City, and why it wasn‘t included.
Why Isn‘t The City on PC?
According to the NBA 2K23 FAQ, the development team wanted to focus specifically on optimizing The City for next-gen consoles. Bringing that ambitious, cutting edge online hub to PC likely requires more development resources to maintain performance and stability across a wide array of hardware.
Additionally, based on my own experience as a long-time NBA 2K gamer, keeping parity between the various platforms has always been a challenge. The City pushes the boundaries of what‘s possible in an online basketball environment – restrictions on player count, graphics, etc. likely prevent it from properly working on most gaming PCs today.
By keeping the PC version on last-gen technology, 2K can innovate specifically for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S while delivering a polished, optimized experience everywhere else.
What the PC Version Includes Instead – The Upgraded Neighborhood
Rather than The City, the PC version of NBA 2K23 includes an enhanced Neighborhood hub with new activities, courts, quests and more.
Key updates include:
- A luxury cruise ship theme
- More courts and locations to explore
- New NPC storylines and daily quests
- Quicker ways to move around the map
It‘s essentially the same Neighborhood concept from previous years, but expanded and upgraded significantly.
Based on the trailers and info released by 2K, it seems to have visuals, detail, and player interaction on par with The City – just compressed into a smaller area.
Neighborhood vs The City – Key Differences
To help set expectations, here‘s a quick comparison between the Neighborhood and The City:
| The Neighborhood | The City | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC | PS5, Xbox Series X/S |
| Scope | Condensed into cruise ship | Massive, ambitious metropolitan map |
| Player Count | Estimated 20-30 players per instance | 50+ players per instance |
| Activities | Courts, shops, quests | Park games, affiliated events, concerts, etc. |
The City is undoubtedly bigger, bolder and more cutting edge. But based on early impressions, this year‘s Neighborhood still provides a lively, thriving online hub to progress your MyCareer.
Just without quite as much scope and scale as what next-gen console gamers get to experience.
Estimated File Size Differences
Another area where The City likely created development barriers is overall file size. The City‘s ambitious map and assets push NBA 2K23‘s total footprint to over 100GB on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Comparatively, the PC version with the Neighborhood is estimated to clock in around 80GB – much more reasonable for most gaming PC drives today.
Again, parity between platforms and ensuring NBA 2K23 runs smoothly on a wide range of hardware seems to be the priority.
The Neighborhood Still Delivers an Awesome Experience
At the end of the day, while the Neighborhood isn‘t quite The City, it still provides a fun way to progress your MyCareer against/with others and offers countless hours of gameplay.
Based on what we‘ve seen so far, you can expect:
- Seamless integration with MyCareer with upgrade quests
- Tons of courts and locations to explore
- Quick navigation options to cut down on walking
- Live events, concerts and set piece moments
- The same great performance and visuals as The City
The team at 2K has clearly invested in improving the Neighborhood to near next-gen levels. So PC players shouldn‘t feel like they are missing out on too much.
Just temper expectations around scale and scope compared to the very top-end consoles.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, while the lack of The City is disappointing, the Neighborhood still delivers an awesome hub for MyCareer with lots of new improvements.
And let‘s remember, PC has other advantages like increased framerates and graphics customization that outpace even next-gen consoles in many ways.
So while The City isn‘t included in NBA 2K23 on PC, I don‘t think it takes away too much from the overall experience for players with modern gaming desktops or laptops.
There are still countless hours of content and progression to enjoy online against the 2K community – even if it‘s on a virtual cruise ship rather than a bustling metropolitan city!
Let me know what you think – and whether you plan to pick up NBA 2K23 on PC! I‘m happy to answer any other questions down below.
