A lawsuit filed against publisher 2K and its parent company Take-Two Interactive has brought to light the company's rationale for preventing players from transferring their earned or purchased virtual currency (VC) between annual NBA 2K releases. The class-action suit, initiated by a minor identified as J.A. and his mother, claims that the inability to roll over VC constitutes theft.
In recently unsealed court documents, Michael O’Dwyer, NBA 2K vice president of production management, explained that a primary barrier is the absence of a "technical solution in existence" to enable such transfers. Take-Two's legal team has also pointed to the game's terms of service, which players agree to upon purchase and play. These terms, described by J.A.'s lawyer as "overly harsh, unduly oppressive, and unfairly one-sided," classify VC as a "virtual item" for which players "have no ownership or other rights."
Another significant reason provided for the inability to transfer VC is 2K's desire to maintain a "completely fresh start" for every user with each new game release. This approach, according to O'Dwyer, ensures that all players, whether returning or new, have an "exactly equal opportunity" upon entering the game. He further elaborated that separating earned VC from purchased VC would be a "massive undertaking" that would divert developer time and resources from other areas. Take-Two has expressed no philosophical desire to implement such a system, stating it would require a "complete redesign of a very complex game."