Take-Two Says NFL 2K Comeback Didn’t Work Out

Image via Visual Concepts

Fans hoping for the return of NFL 2K have received some disappointing news. Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, recently confirmed that the company's plans to revive the football series failed because the ideas they considered "didn't work out creatively."

Take-Two first announced a partnership with the NFL in 2020, leading many fans to believe NFL 2K would return after being discontinued in 2004. The original series was once regarded as a strong competitor to EA's Madden games and is still popular among die-hard football fans.

However, EA still holds exclusive rights to simulation-style NFL games, so any new NFL 2K title would need to be more arcade-focused. According to Zelnick, the company was unable to find the right direction for the project.

"What we hoped would come to fruition creatively did not," he admitted in a recent interview.

Take-Two did release NFL 2K Playmakers, a mobile game, in 2024, but it failed to gain grip and was finally discontinued.

Despite this, Zelnick stated that the company remains "open-minded" about returning to NFL games in the future if the right opportunity arises.

The CEO also hinted that MLB 2K is unlikely to return, stating that the baseball series cost the company a lot of money during its run.