Basketball legend Michael Jordan will be the cover star of NBA 2K23's special editions and 2K is bringing back the iconic Jordan Challenges to celebrate. The publisher also confirmed a September 9 release date and announced the six-time NBA champion will grace the covers of the aptly named Michael Jordan Edition and the limited Championship Edition.
Jordan was chosen not only because 2K23 matches his iconic jersey number but also, 2K said, because his spirit matches the theme of this year's MyPlayer campaign mode: Answer the Call. "After making 23 the most recognizable number in sports, it was only fitting that for NBA 2K23 we introduce the Michael Jordan Edition," said Alfie Brody, vice president of global marketing strategy for NBA 2K.
While the prices of these editions wasn't revealed – nor the standard edition's cover star – last year's special edition (likely the Michael Jordan edition tier) was $99.99 compared to the standard's price of $59.99/$69.99 depending on the console generation.
The Championship Edition, however, is a brand new tier of NBA 2K editions that comes with a year's subscription to NBA League Pass, which grants access to every actual, real-life NBA game on TV. Given this is $50 by itself, those looking to buy this most expensive edition should expect a hefty price hike.
2K hasn't revealed too much else about what comes in each edition but did confirm that the iconic Jordan Challenges from NBA 2K11 will make a return in this year's game. The Jordan Challenges were a series of ten, well, challenges where players had to recreate defining moments of Jordan's career.
There will be a slight upgrade of 15 different challenges in 2K23, however, pulling moments from Jordan's NBA career with the Chicago Bulls alongside his Team USA playtime. All ten original challenges will be rebuilt from the ground up and feature alongside the remaining five in their own game mode.
2K23 will mark Jordan's fourth appearance on an NBA 2K cover, first appearing in 2K11 (alongside the original Jordan Challenges), then 2K12, followed by the 2K16 Special Edition.
2K promised that more details will arrive soon, while a deeper look at the Jordan Challenges will be released sometime this summer.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.