NBA 2K21
- Developer
- Visual Concepts
- Publisher
- 2K Games
- Released
- 03 September 2020
- Age rating
- PEGI 3
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
With exciting improvements upon its best-in-class gameplay, competitive and community online features, and deep, varied game modes, NBA 2K21 offers one-of-a-kind immersion into all facets of NBA basketball and culture - where Everything is Game. In NBA 2K21, new, old, and returning ballers alike will find exciting game modes that offer a variety of basketball experiences.
Best gaming PC for NBA 2K21 in 2026
Full buyers guide →Below are the four PC tiers we'd actually recommend for NBA 2K21 today. These are our 2026 hardware picks, not the dated publisher minimums you'll find on Steam.
Budget
1080p · 60fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 8GB
- RAM
- 16 GB
- Storage
- 1TB NVMe SSD
Mid-tier
1440p · 60fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7 7700
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
- RAM
- 32 GB
- Storage
- 2TB NVMe SSD
High-end
1440p · 144fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB
- RAM
- 32 GB
- Storage
- 2TB NVMe SSD
Enthusiast
4K · 60fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 32GB
- RAM
- 64 GB
- Storage
- 4TB NVMe SSD
Official system requirements
These are the minimum and recommended specs as published by 2K Games on Steam. They tend to be conservative, usually "what ran the game at 1080p when it shipped". For what you should actually buy in 2026, see the tier cards above.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 7 64-bit / Windows 8.1 64-bit / Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 7 64-bit / Windows 8.1 64-bit / Windows 10 64-bit |
| CPU | Intel® Core™ i3-2100 @ 3.10 GHz / AMD FX-4100 @ 3.60 GHz or better | Intel® Core™ i5-4430 @ 3 GHz / AMD FX-8370 @ 3.4 GHz or better |
| RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| GPU | NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 450 1GB / ATI® Radeon™ HD 7770 1GB or better | NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770 2GB / ATI® Radeon™ R9 270 2GB or better |
| Storage | 110 GB | 110 GB |
| DirectX | 11 | 11 |
Verified 23 August 2026 against the Steam store page.
Can your PC run NBA 2K21?
If your CPU is roughly equivalent to Intel® Core™ i5-4430 @ 3 GHz / AMD FX-8370 @ 3.4 GHz and your GPU is at or above NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770 2GB / ATI® Radeon™ R9 270 2GB, you'll hit recommended settings at 1080p/60. For 1440p or higher, look at the tier picks above.