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How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 78 | 20 |
| All-time Steam reviews | – | – | 0 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 49 | 122 |
| Backloggd ratings | – | 46 | 750 |
| Xbox store ratings | – | 67 | 55 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | – | – | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 0 reviews sampled · 0 total reviews in window · weighted 0 up / 0 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (55)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“I can safely recommend NBA 2K23 to every sports games fan, even though the microtransactions are extremely aggressive. The gameplay is too good, and I hope future updates won’t break it.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“The problem that plagues all triple-A sports titles can be found in here as well. There's not much to say concerning the differences between NBA 2K23 and the previous entry. In other words, maybe only super-fans of the series or major basketball aficionados should care. If you have the patience to wait for a discount, what you'll find here is a great NBA game, with some cool modes that transport you to the past of the organization, with chief among them a meaty tribute to Michael Jordan.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“It may be easy to accuse sports games of offering the same experience year in and year out, but you simply can’t say that about NBA 2K23. The game still has issues with its overemphasis on microtransactions in MyCareer and to a lesser extent MyTeam, but the new MyNBA Eras mode is a revelation, and the Jordan Challenge campaign is damn fun, too. On the court, 2K Sports has made some nice balancing tweaks and also improved the overall AI to make matches more dynamic and competitive, and when you pair all of that with all the new animations, you end up with a basketball sim that’s the very definition of a slam dunk.”
read full review ↗ - 78
“I would recommend NBA 2K23 for its sheer breadth of material and the fact that it really tries to be a basketball universe unto itself (hence the massive file size). It's certainly not perfect, as I still keep running into odd glitches now and then, and even some strange things that carry over from the last game (Do I really have to keep walking through the Dallas Mavericks shootaround to get to my guys? Why is that still a thing?), but it is and shall likely always be the sports game I play almost every day, no matter what time of year it actually is, even when the fans tell me I stink.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“NBA 2K23 has something for everyone to get stuck into, whether you want to get engrossed in the Jordan era or have your own come up in MyCareer, all provide a lot to work with. With some of the best visuals to hit consoles and deep gameplay that plays so solidly, NBA 2K23 is a great iteration of the franchise. ”
read full review ↗ - 75
“When we throw all the listed elements into a pot and mix them, we get an excellent playable basketball, which is great to watch and you will enjoy every single virtual game. But we already feel the stagnation in the series and the technical shortcomings do not help either.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“An abundance of various modes and improvements to the on-court action, NBA 2K23 is an astonishing amount of fun for any basketball fan. Even the microtransactions in some modes weren’t enough to dampen the pure fun that the rest of the game had to offer.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“NBA 2K23 delivers a somewhat complete package that starts to feel more like an expansion rather than a major upgrade the further you get into the season.”
read full review ↗ - 78
“NBA2K23 came with some interesting changes by bring back old memories. Jordan's legendary career and the year-based dynasty mode are both very attractive new features. NBA 2K23 is still the best basketball game in the world, even though it's still similar to NBA2K22. I'm glad to see that the NBA 2K series have made some innovations and changes, but there is still a lot of room for further improvements.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“NBA 2K23 offers fun content by adding new modes to the series. In addition to the 10+ hour Jordan Challenge mode, it is also a pleasure to play NBA seasons in different eras.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“NBA 2K23 does a good job with introducing some cool ideas into its stubbornly lackluster larger format.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“On the cynical side of things. NBA 2K is a billion dollar enterprise, it doesn't do things by accident. It chose to put MyCareer front and centre, to put MyTeam right below it, to bury the ability to simply play a game of basketball in layers of menus. The shame of it is that I genuinely think it's the best representation of basketball ever. But they make you work so hard to see that, and I just don't know if it's worth the effort.”
read full review ↗
…and 43 more tracked reviews.
