This looks fun and more fluid than a 2K game. Anyway, enjoy the official details of the June release below.
Get ready to RUN! Play by Play Studios, the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) will be launching NBA THE RUN in June 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. Check out some of your favorite NBA stars in fast-paced, above-the-rim action, packed with posterizing moments, lockdown D, and ankle-breaking tricks, in the game’s first official gameplay trailer, out now.
And players won’t have to wait too long to get their hands on the sticks themselves as sign-ups are open now for NBA THE RUN’s first closed beta playtest, running this Friday, May 1, 2026, from 12 PM PDT – 3 PM PDT on Steam.
At the heart of NBA THE RUN is the Run the World Tournament, a four-round Knockout tournament where teams of 3 will be going head-to-head on iconic streetball courts around the world. Each tournament ends with a championship game at one of four specially designated finals courts, where you’ll square off for the Run the World trophy and the ultimate bragging rights.
There are three game modes coming at launch, including:
- Knockout Squads – Play on a Squad of 3. You control 1 player on the Squad, fill out your team with friends / other players and take on the competition.
- Knockout Solos – Build your own Team of 3. You control your team and go head-to-head against other players and their teams of 3.
- Knockout Friends – Your own Private Tournament. Play alone against the AI, crew up w/ friends against the AI, or go head-to-head against anyone you want to invite in (up to 48 players at Launch).
At launch, players will take to the courts as one of 30+ NBA stars, along with 5 fictional streetball legends, each with different playstyles, and each uniquely handcrafted and stylized. Gameplay is fast, fluid, and responsive, powered by true rollback netcode, ensuring every crossover, dive for loose ball, and alley-oop syncs simultaneously for every player in a seamless online experience.
NBA THE RUN is the first game from Play by Play Studios, a small, independent studio made up of veteran developers who’ve worked on some of the industry’s biggest franchises and have a passion for sports and video games. The game is being built with care and craftsmanship by a team united in their vision to pay homage to the golden age of sports games, made for today’s players.
For more information, visit the game’s official website at nbatherun.com. Follow the team for updates on X, Instagram, and TikTok, and join the game’s community on Discord. Subscribe on YouTube to watch 4K trailers, short videos, and be amongst the first to learn about incoming game content.
