Why are NBA 2K24 Servers down? Reasons explored as game crashes within 5 minutes of launching

NBA 2k24 launch day isn't going as planned. Within five minutes of the game's release, the servers had already crashed and showed no sign of an immediate return, leaving thousands of gamers frustrated.

However, it has been reported that the issues have now been fixed, and servers are back up and running.

Every year, 2K is known for some teething issues with the latest iteration of their flagship game. However, severe issues are usually quite far down on the list. Yet, it appears that cross-platform gaming and server load have both been an issue for 2K this time.

The issues aren't affecting everybody, though, as the "2K Intel" account on X (formerly known as Twitter,) has stated the issues appear to be confined to Xbox, meaning that Playstation users are getting along just fine with their first few hours with NBA2K24.

Cross-platform is a major new feature within NBA 2K24 and is likely the reason behind such a surge in server load. There will need to be some additional maintenance within the opening weeks to ensure crashes like the one users experienced on release day don't become a longstanding issue.

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Why consoles can use NBA2K24 cross-platform

Cross-platform play has been the most requested feature in the NBA2K series for the past few years. Generally speaking, Xbox and PlayStation users are kept on separate servers and play against other users on the same console, something that has been done since the birth of online gaming.

However, NBA2K24 is different. Next-generation console users — that is Xbox series X/S and PlayStation 5 — will have cross-platform play available to them from launch day, allowing for a greater scope of competition within the game.

MyCareer is among the most popular modes within NBA 2K, with the "Neighbourhood" being a vast open-world online community that will now feature multiple console users.

NBA2K24 has broken a boundary that has rarely been tested, so the issues the gaming franchise is facing on launch day can be expected. Nevertheless, fans will surely be happy that what they deem to be an important feature has finally been added.

Last year, with NBA2K23, the 2K franchise began building toward cross-platform play by introducing "cross-platform progression," which meant users could share their MyTeam progress with friends on different consoles.

It would now appear that the "progression sharing" was the first step toward the major breakthrough.

NBA 2K24 users will now be hoping the server and cross-platform play issues are resolved, so they can begin their journey to becoming a 99 overall, and collecting the best MyTeam cards available.