Pre-Ordering NBA 2K16 Gets You The Game Four Days Early

2K Sports announced today that NBA 2K16 will release on Tuesday, September 29. However those that pre-order the game will get it on Friday, September 25.

Interestingly with the release date moved up into September that appears to represent a change in the latest licensing contract with the league which begins this year with 2K and EA Sports. Traditionally the NBA has restricted games from going out prior to the first Tuesday in October.

In addition to getting the game earlier the pre-order incentive includes 10K in Virtual Currency and three MyTeam Emerald Packs (PS4/XB1/PC) or MyTeam Gold Booster Pack (360/PS3).

Pre-ordering is becoming more of a necessity when it comes to sports games, particularly for those who play the Ultimate Team/MyTeam type modes. So this becomes essentially a new release date rather than a special “early” release.

The “Early Tip-Off” edition of NBA 2K16 has already been made available for pre-order through retailers including Amazon.