Some former EA devs have formed a new studio, Play by Play Games, and are showing off their work in The Run: Got Next, a 3v3 basketball game in the mold of NBA Street. If you haven’t heard of NBA Street, that’s because it’s been AWOL since 2007’s NBA Street: Homecourt (unless you count a couple Korean online titles).
Right now, we’ve only got a teaser trailer to set the mood. It shows off three unique characters who show us how they bounce a ball. It appears to be aiming for a comic book style aesthetic, with the character High Wire ending a dunk with a super-hero landing.
I’ve always been more of an NBA Jam girl, but I’ll admit that I missed the days of EA Big. Or the days when EA did absolutely anything that interested me, sports-wise.
Among Play By Play’s staff is Steve Probst, former general manager at Visceral Games. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Probst said that the studio’s goal is “bringing sports games back in a different way to what’s being done in the industry today.” The Run: Got Next is described as a character-driven basketball game that can be played in short bursts, with a game lasting around 5 minutes, according to Probst. He tells GameIndustry.biz that this is so, “When you play a game, maybe you get blown out but it doesn’t feel that bad,” which sounds like a sly jab.
Personally, I don’t jive with simulator-style sports games. I find them too sterile. Even games like WWE 2K24 only interest me because I can inject my own style into it through the creation systems. I miss the days of NHL Hitz and always get excited when something like Mutant Football League comes along. Still, I’ll be comparing The Run: Got Next to NBA Jam rather than NBA Street, so it’s got a tough climb.
Play by Play is hoping to have The Run: Got Next ready for 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
