Key Notes
- NBA 2K25’s servers close on December 31, 2026, making MyCAREER and MyTEAM unavailable from January 1 despite the career mode including single-player content.
- New sales end on October 30, while existing owners can still redownload the game and use supported offline modes without their connected features.
- The retirement date was disclosed in the game’s manual, highlighting the difference between retaining a copy and retaining server-dependent experiences.
NBA 2K25’s servers will close on December 31, 2026, taking its MyCAREER mode offline under 2K’s announced retirement plan. That means the basketball game will lose its single-player career experience as well as multiplayer services, even though several other modes will remain playable.
The game will also stop being available to purchase on October 30. Existing owners will retain access to downloads and offline play, but buying or keeping a copy does not preserve every part of the original package.
MyCAREER Ends Alongside Online Play
2K’s shutdown notice says MyCAREER and MyTEAM will be unavailable from January 1, 2027. Players will also lose multiplayer, Online Leagues and community sharing, and will no longer be able to earn Virtual Currency, or VC.
The career loss matters because playing alone does not necessarily mean a mode runs independently of the publisher’s servers. MyCAREER is part of NBA 2K25’s connected experience, so its retirement reaches beyond matches against other people.
At launch, 2K promoted MyCAREER around building a dynasty and climbing rankings against historic NBA teams. Its launch announcement also described Heart of a Dynasty, a flashback story following the player-created character’s journey to the NBA. Those features help explain why the shutdown affects more than a competitive matchmaking service.
The same announcement disclosed an internet connection and online account requirement for connected features, including MyCAREER. The retirement notice does not announce an offline replacement for the mode. Players should therefore distinguish the ability to launch the game from the ability to continue that career.
Several Offline Modes Will Survive
Play Now, MyNBA, The W and MyWNBA are among the experiences 2K says owners can continue to enjoy. Any features inside them that depend on a server connection will disappear, however. A retained mode name is not a promise that all of its connected options survive.
The publisher’s broader service schedule also lists MyLeague, MyGM and 2KU/Learn 2K among NBA 2K25’s offline offerings. Availability needs to be read against the version owned: the game launched across PC, Nintendo Switch and two generations of PlayStation and Xbox consoles, with differences in its feature set.
For example, 2K’s release materials identified MyNBA and The W as features of the newer-generation edition on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Owners of older versions should not assume that a mode mentioned in the general retirement guidance will appear in their edition.
The purchase cutoff and server cutoff also do different things. October 30 concerns new sales; the end of December concerns connected access. An existing owner can still redownload the game after it leaves sale, according to 2K, but that download will not restore services once they have closed.
A Disclosed Deadline Still Changes What Owners Keep
NBA 2K25 launched on September 6, 2024, giving its online services a scheduled lifespan of a little over two years. The December 31, 2026 endpoint was already included in the game’s PS5 manual, rather than first appearing with the current retirement notice.
2K’s service policy describes scheduled retirements for annual and biannual releases. The company says running newer and older services together can become commercially unfeasible as players move to newer games. That is the publisher’s general explanation, rather than a disclosure of NBA 2K25’s remaining audience or server costs.
For players, the practical question is which experiences remain available years after purchase. We recently covered Shawn Layden’s criticism of Sony’s move away from new PlayStation game discs. The NBA 2K25 shutdown illustrates a separate limit: a physical copy or installed download cannot, on its own, keep a server-dependent career working.
Anyone returning to NBA 2K25 should check which mode they intend to play before the deadlines arrive. Offline basketball remains part of the package, but MyCAREER and MyTEAM are approaching the end of their availability under the announced plan.
