(Reuters) - Videogame publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc’s 2K label, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) on Tuesday announced a multi-year global partnership extension.
The agreement allows Take-Two’s 2K studio to continue making its NBA 2K videogame franchise and other NBA-branded games, including smartphone apps.
NBA 2K recently launched NBA 2K19 after setting a series record for NBA 2K18 with 10 million units sold. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the video game franchise.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the day that the company will pay the NBA and its players’ union up to $1.1 billion over seven years, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The deal value, based on a percentage of sales of Take-Two’s NBA games, is more than double the organizations’ prior licensing tie-up in 2011, according to the WSJ report.
Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Shailesh Kuber
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