A summary of the key points is as follows:
- The City in NBA 2K26 has been designed to be more intimate and accessible. No matter where you are, you can see basically every area of The City, and getting around is much faster in general.
- New environmental details such as planes and helicopters in the sky are intended to make The City feel alive and immersive.
- The framerate in The City is now 60 FPS for smoother peformance. There are also improvements to lighting including a fixed time-of-day that reduces harsh shadows and sunlight when playing games outdoors.
- An open-air plaza approach places locations such as the Gatorade Training Facility, Event Center, and Arena within walking distance. The Theater, REC, Proving Grounds, and so on line the perimeter of The City, making it easy to go door-to-door for different games.
- The City is going back to basics with Parks in NBA 2K26, with more natural and realistic locations and aesthetics rather than the "amusement park" style of environments seen in recent games.
- Parks will be Seasonal, with a new environment being introduced every six weeks. On top of new designs such as Season 1's Skyline park, there will be remasters of NBA 2K16's Parks.
- The top REP player in each Park server will be marked with a Park MVP icon. Defeating the reigning Park MVP will earn 5X REP and 5X VC for that game. This bonus is earnable once every three hours.
- Streak Setters will see gamers recognised for setting the longest winning streak on a court in each Season, with their names being displayed on the side of the court for bragging rights.
- On the flip side, breaking a winning streak of five games or longer provides unlimited opportunities to earn extra VC. A streak of 20 games or longer adds a bonus of 1,000 VC for every win, so ending a 30-game win streak would net you a cool 30,000 VC.
- All Park games activate a 25% REP boost, making them an efficient way to level up for rewards and upgrades.
- Crews have been added to The City in NBA 2K26. Thy can consist of up to 50 people, and completing weekly goals with your Crew earns custom logos and branded clothing, VC and REP multiplayers, Cap Breakers, and other boosts and perks.
- Mode leaderboards track and spotlight the players with the most wins in each mode in The City. The leaderboards update daily, and the number one player in each mode will get a statue outside of the respective building.
- Geo Rank leaderboards display the top-ranked players across the globe. These leaderboards can be filtered by geographical regions, as well as all 50 US states.
- Crew leaderboards track the top-ranked Crews, effectively showing which Crew runs The City in NBA 2K26.
- The REP system is the same as in NBA 2K25, but will offer new rewards.
- A Pro-Am Summit, consisting of 3v3 and 5v5 tournaments, will be held twice a Season. To qualify, Pro-Am teams need to play at least 10 games together in the weeks leading up to the Summit. The Top 5, Top 10, Top 50, and Top 100 teams will receive special rewards based on their standing.
- Street Kings is the new take on Streetball, taking place in a centralised location. As before, it involves games against CPU players, and can be played both solo and co-op.
- There are Beginner, Daily, Seasonal, and Lifetime challenges that provide VC, REP, cosmetics, and other boosts when completed.
- Gamers with multiple builds can now swap between their available MyPLAYERs without leaving The City, avoiding the hassle of rejoining a server and squad.
- MyCOURT features new drill options, including free throw, alley-oop, and putback practice. There are also new customisation options, including pre-designed floors and the ability to design your own custom floor using the full arena court editor.
- The Track returns, bringing go-kart racing to The City in NBA 2K26. There are two new vehicles and a 1,000,000 VC prize on offer every week.
- This year's MyCAREER story - Out of Bounds - casts your MyPLAYER as an unknown prospect from a small town in Vermont. The story sees them competing against top high school prospects, joining a club league team, and attempting to impress scouts. The Draft will provide a choice between letting fate run its course, or deciding where to go. There are also passion projects on top of endorsements, and gamers can choose a set of Key Games twice a season that will allow the story to continue into the Playoffs.
