Game Recognize Game: A Closer Look at NBA 2K25’s ProPLAY System

With NBA 2K25, veteran sports game studio Visual Concepts is introducing significant updates to its ProPLAY technology, first implemented in NBA 2K24. ProPLAY leverages advanced tech to transform real NBA footage directly into in-game movements, capturing the essence of on-court nuances, like LeBron James's powerful drives to the basket, Ja Morant’s high-flying finishes, and Steph Curry's unconventional release from downtown. The result is a virtual basketball experience that aims to replicate the NBA's on-court action with unprecedented fidelity, bridging the gap between televised games and interactive play.

We spoke with Erick Boenisch, VP of NBA Development at Visual Concepts, to discuss the development of this powerful tech and its impact on gaming's premier basketball franchise.

"We're always pushing ourselves to strive for new ways to make gameplay as realistic as possible," Boenisch said. "Traditional motion-capture has played a vital role in delivering players an NBA experience that feels and looks like the real thing, but it can only take us so far. The next step in realism was to directly translate NBA footage into actual NBA 2K gameplay."

The implementation of ProPLAY has influenced both Visual Concepts' development process as well as the final product. Boenisch notes:

"Overall, ProPLAY makes the game look and feel more believable, and reduces the amount of breaks in authenticity. The shots, motion—anytime the player is moving off-ball around the court, from dribbling, rebounds and blocks, to passes, and free throws—feels different in NBA 2K25 because they're from authentic moments. In addition, ProPLAY allows us to increase the library of animations we're able to ingest at a much faster rate."

NBA 2K25 marks ProPLAY's second year on the court. The technology has enabled the reproduction of 9,000 animations in total, including 1,500 dribbling animations and 1,100 signature shot animations, covering most rostered players from the 2023-24 NBA season. To capture players' personalities on the court, it also aided in the creation of 1,300 new off-the-ball animations, including 150 new signature motion styles.

"In its second year, ProPLAY delivers what press and our community call the best on-court gameplay in franchise history," Boenisch said. He also maintains that ProPLAY's impact on NBA 2K25 is not merely visual. 

"In NBA 2K25, the new-gen gameplay enhancements are powered by ProPLAY, and implemented in all gameplay aspects from the all-new Dribble Engine system to offense and defense innovations," Boenisch said. "We’ve updated the offense system in NBA 2K25 to provide more variety, accessibility, and freedom on offense for newcomers, seasoned players, and veterans alike with all-new improvements like the Shot Canceling feature, Signature Go-To Shots, Shot Timing Profiles, Pro Stick Rhythm Shooting, and more."

NBA 2K25's new defensive cutoff system ensures that defensive-minded players also have powerful tools at their disposal. It enables maneuvers to dynamically change direction using the right stick to control a player and quickly slide laterally into position to cut off an offensive player’s attack. Another gameplay system significantly impacted by ProPLAY is 2K25's new dribble engine, which Boenisch describes as "one of the biggest changes to gameplay in 15 years."

In every previous version of NBA 2K, dribble movement was managed by manually programmed, pre-scripted animation transitions from a library of motion-captured movements. Thanks to ProPLAY, NBA 2K25's dribble engine generates dynamic motion from real-world NBA footage, with the aim of creating a more authentic feel. "It goes beyond animations," Boenisch said. "Movement with the ball is now one holistic, dynamic piece of motion, one-to-one with how players dribble in real life."

With this launch of NBA 2K25 earlier this month, players around the world are experiencing for themselves the fruits of Visual Concepts' single-minded pursuit of fidelity and authenticity. On both the hardwood and on TV screens and monitors around the world, the ball don't lie.