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After months of speculation and radio silence, EA Sports has officially announced that NBA Live 20 has been cancelled. Instead, the series will be returning on next gen consoles. The following statement was posted on the game’s official social media accounts:
For some time, we’ve been putting in reps on our console basketball games.
We’re excited by our progress but remain hyper ambitious – so we’re not going to release NBA LIVE 20 this season. Alongside the NBA and NBPA, we have our sights set on creating something fresh for the next generation of players and platforms. We know we need to earn our future every step of the way, so we’re taking time to get it right for our players. We promise to check back regularly with updates.
Until then, we’ll be on the grind…
Although the game was never officially announced, it was listed (and subsequently pushed back) in EA’s financial reports as an upcoming release. The situation is reminiscent of the cancellation of NBA Live 17/The Drive to NBA Live, which was originally intended as a later release but ultimately got pushed back and was finally released as NBA Live 18. Hopefully this decision will be for the best, and the game can cater to the needs of sim gamers; especially given EA’s previous comments about a new direction and demographic.
We’ll have more to say on the NLSC Podcast, but in the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts on NBA Live 20 being cancelled in the comments below, as well as here in the Forum. We’ll also be continuing our 25th Anniversary of NBA Live celebrations, as it’s still marking a milestone and we’ve got some fun stuff planned. Stay tuned for that, and more updates on the future of NBA Live as they’re made available.
