NBA 2K lawsuit over VC transfer between annual releases
In brief
- A 2023 California lawsuit asks whether NBA 2K players can carry VC into a new annual release. According to Kotaku, 2K said no.
- In a deposition released in 2025, NBA 2K vice president Michael O’Dwyer reportedly told Kotaku there is no technical solution for transferring VC.
- Take-Two disputes the theft claim and, according to the reporting, points to the game’s terms of service.
What happened
The case centers on VC, the virtual currency in NBA 2K, and whether its value should be transferable from one annual entry to the next. According to Kotaku, a class-action lawsuit was filed in California in 2023 on behalf of a minor, J.A., along with his mother and attorney. The case targets NBA 2K’s yearly release cycle, in which a new edition arrives while earlier in-game purchases and earned currency are allegedly not transferable.
The complaint argues, according to the reporting, that 2K and parent company Take-Two effectively take money or value from players when a new NBA 2K release arrives and previously purchased or earned VC cannot be moved over. Take-Two denies the theft allegation, Kotaku reports. In the supplied reporting, the dispute is framed as a mix of contract law, product design, and how annual sports games manage their virtual economies.
In a deposition unsealed in 2025, NBA 2K vice president of production management Michael O’Dwyer reportedly said there is “no technical solution in existence” for transferring VC between games. According to the same reporting, Take-Two’s lawyers pointed to the terms of service to argue that players do not own the virtual currency or other virtual items. GameFile also reported that the depositions were taken in August 2025 and were later released after being under seal. The publication of those documents, according to the reporting, offered a look at the strategic thinking behind one of the most lucrative microtransaction ecosystems in sports games.
Timeline
2023: a class-action lawsuit is filed in California over NBA 2K VC, with J.A. as the minor plaintiff, along with his mother and attorney.
August 2025: according to GameFile, NBA 2K vice president Michael O’Dwyer gives a deposition in the J.A. case.
2025: the deposition and other statements remain under seal at first, then a judge later allows publication with redactions requested by 2K.
2025: Kotaku and GameFile report on the contents of the unsealed documents, including the claim that there is no technical solution for VC transfer.
2026-09-21: Kotaku publishes the article about the case and the deposition.
Background
The core of the dispute is both legal and technical: what exactly do the terms of service say about ownership and transferability of VC, and will the court accept the argument that annual NBA 2K releases have no technical path for transfer? The supplied sources do not answer those questions yet. The reporting does explicitly say Take-Two is relying on the terms of service, but the exact contractual wording is not fully quoted in the materials provided.
The case fits into a broader debate over digital goods in games, but the supplied sources focus only on this specific NBA 2K proceeding. According to the fact report, the plaintiff is a minor, J.A., and the dispute began in California in 2023. The open question is whether the court accepts Take-Two’s argument that players do not own VC or other virtual items, and whether the judge accepts the technical objection to transferring currency between annual releases. The sources do not provide a final ruling, settlement, or dismissal.
Sources
- Kotaku: reporting on the lawsuit, Michael O’Dwyer’s deposition, and Take-Two’s response.
- GameFile: additional reporting on the depositions taken in 2025 and their release.