Before simulation became the dominant language of sports gaming, there was a stretch of years when the best basketball you could play on a console involved gravity-defying dunks, no-rules defense, and the unmistakable energy of the street. NBA Street Vol. 2 was the peak of that era for many players. When Electronic Arts shuttered the EA Sports BIG label and the studios behind those games disappeared, so did that style of basketball entirely.
Play by Play Studios is trying to bring it back. The team includes Mike Young, a veteran of the NBA Street and FIFA Street franchises who spent nearly a decade as creative director on the Madden series. The studio began development in 2021 on a streetball game called The Run: Got Next, built around original fictional characters. By 2024, the NBA had taken notice and reached out about a licensing deal. What emerged from that partnership is NBA The Run, a 3v3 online arcade basketball game set for release in June 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC.
What makes NBA The Run feel different from other basketball games
The game now features 32 NBA players, but the philosophy that shaped the original concept remains intact. Each player has been hand-crafted from the ground up, with custom animations, exaggerated but recognizable appearances, and gameplay styles designed to reflect how they actually play. Anthony Edwards and LeBron James control nothing like Steph Curry or Giannis Antetokounmpo. The studio drew inspiration from notoriously overpowered video game athletes like Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl and Michael Vick in Madden NFL 04, creating players who feel like characters rather than interchangeable assets on a roster.
Victor Wembanyama, for instance, can dominate in the paint on both ends of the floor and still knock down shots from beyond the arc with uncomfortable regularity. The design goal was to make each player feel like a legitimate force within the game’s 3v3 framework rather than a scaled-down version of a simulation counterpart.
NBA The Run builds strategy around randomized rulesets
Structure in NBA The Run runs through its Knockout Tournament format. Players work through four-round brackets on iconic streetball courts, with the ruleset changing from game to game. One match might reward dunks with extra points. The next could push scoring toward three-pointers. Another might run on a timer, making ball control the deciding factor. Bringing an all-bigs lineup into a three-point-heavy ruleset creates a real problem, and the randomization ensures that no single team composition dominates every situation.
The game also includes a Zone system, a momentum mechanic that unlocks signature abilities tied to individual players. Earning it requires stringing together big plays, and deploying it at the right moment can swing a game quickly. From rim-attacking finishers to lockdown defensive options, the abilities vary by player and add a layer that pulls from the vocabulary of hero-based multiplayer games.
Cosmetic rewards flow through an in-game currency called Cred, earned by winning matches. Players can unlock jerseys, dunks, taunts, badges, and banners. Among the most anticipated unlockables are Rookie Variants, which include alternate versions of NBA stars at earlier points in their careers, different in appearance and different in how they play.
NBA The Run includes street legends built from the beginning
Alongside NBA players, the game features original streetball legends that were part of the project from its earliest development. These characters come with obvious strengths and significant weaknesses, built to create interesting decisions when assembling a team. Bobbito Garcia, the game’s announcer, has been confirmed as one of the playable legends.
The studio has also built several modes around different play preferences, including a Shootaround practice mode and Knockout Friends, a private tournament format that supports up to 48 players and allows combinations of human and AI opponents.
A beta begins May 1. For anyone who grew up on NBA Street and has been waiting for something to fill that space for over a decade, NBA The Run is worth watching closely.
