More than half of WNBA players currently appear in the game, which will continue to add moreNBA2K20
"NBA 2K20" includes a WNBA presence for the first time in the series' history, and players are "hopeful the video game gives gamers the ability to recognize women's professional basketball on the same stage as the NBA," according to Maggie Vanoni of the SEATTLE TIMES. While the WNBA was featured in NBA Live in '18, this is just the "second time the league has been represented in a sports video game." All players were each "given an Xbox with a code to download the game prior to its release" this past Friday. Seattle Storm F Natasha Howard said, "It shows the league is growing. We're in the sports games now, that means a lot to us." During the WNBA All-Star break in July, players from various teams were "body scanned by game designers to record everything from their facial expressions and court movements, to their physical appearances." More than half of the league's players have been "scanned and added to the game, which will continue to add more." Storm G Jewell Loyd said, "It gives credit to our talent and can help get other people, younger girls, into the sport by playing and maybe seeing themselves in the game." Meanwhile, Vanoni notes the NBA 2K League has "simultaneously made strides to create a more welcoming environment for women" in esports (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/11).
