Sports games in the past decade have become rather monotone contrary to popular belief, and though certain titles have shown progressive upgrade on their next-gen platforms, games like NBA 2k and Madden NFL have been rather described as mere roster updates. In regards to the company’s community of loyal players, 2k’s iterative approach of exclusive gameplay photographs has become, in fact, just slight touch-ups on sweat graphics and tune-ups to in-game mechanics so that the basketball simulation mirrors its real-life counterpart.

Promptly, this has aroused feelings of contempt, disdain and a fervent need for a new experience from a vast majority of 2k players. Especially now, since sports gaming is to enter a brand-new decade of untouched innovation.

But, these sports games are extremely successful and a ball to play year after year. EA Sports and 2k Sports are well versed in making their money and are awash with support the night of when their products drop. Millions upon millions are spent on these games every year and not just for their single-player modes as microtransactions on “Ultimate Teams” and “MyPlayers” alike have dominated the realm of sports gaming.

And yet, there has been a single strand of entertainment that both companies have used to reel in online views and pre-orders: the phenomenal effect of adding story modes to their games. EA’s FIFA 17 first popularized the dramatic genre by introducing “The Journey”, placing players in the shoes of star soccer player Alex Hunter as they played out his professional career amidst pressure from media, fans and familial requests. Madden NFL dabbled in the career mode pool with their “Longshot” and “Face of the Franchise” modes as well.

But 2k Sports brought a different flavor to the career mode in a sports game, with much more salient topics coursing through the lifeblood of their gripping plots. Whether you began your career in high school until your character was “Livin Da Dream” in the league (NBA 2k16), or you made your way into the NBA as an undrafted free agent by way of a Chinese basketball league (NBA 2k19), 2k Sports has never been afraid to offer a cinematic touch to make your yearly in-game experience that much more enjoyable.

Of course, if it is not broken, there is no reason to fix it. This year is a spitting image of its predecessors: a Hollywood-ridden cast awash with star-studded talent, a gripping storyline to mimic life inside the actual NBA, and the opportunity to include players’ personalized superstars into a complex tale.

But 2k really decided to push, better yet shove, the envelope this year, adding a plot that unprecedentedly blurs the virtual from the real in a way that is so abrasively groundbreaking it is bound to incite discussion leading up to its September release.

2k Sports is entering a zone that most companies are honestly scared to dip their feet in. This year, 2k players will get the chance to see the perspective of an athlete who chooses to stand up for personal beliefs as a social pariah of sorts, something that has become increasingly popular in the past four years. 2k Games granted LeBron James’ Springhill Entertainment creative control and production rights to NBA 2k20’s MyCareer story, titled “When The Lights Are Brightest”.

Set in a modern NBA and social climate where athlete’s voices and opinions are magnified, as they are seen as “More than an athlete” (chalk up LeBron James’s “Uninterrupted” for the credit). As a collegiate baller on the course of graduating, you find your player on a social balancing scale, prompted by the unjust removal of your friend’s scholarship after a career-altering injury.

Alfie Brody, Vice President of Global Marketing at NBA 2K, stated in a press release;

“An entire film made entirely of video game scenes has never been done in this way before. We decided to partner with SpringHill Entertainment because as an athlete-led production company, they authentically understand basketball culture and created a totally unique cinematic experience that encapsulates the reality facing the game’s next prospects. What we were able to accomplish in this year’s MyCAREER mode is an example of what’s ‘NEXT’ in moviemaking and in gaming.”

Per a report from Hypebeast, this year’s cinematic narrative was directed by next up visionary Sheldon Candis. It features a star-filled cast that includes prolific actor Idris Elba, the ubiquitous Rosario Dawson and the likes of Desus and Mero with a slew of past and present NBA players like LeBron himself.

Honestly, you’d be remiss to believe in a reality where sports gaming did not include some sort of social and/or political topic at some point, with this in the form of amateur athletes taking a stand for what they believe in, regardless of oncoming backlash and ostracism.

From this trailer, it is evident that we will see 2K potentially tackle the issues of injury risk and lack of pay that come with the territory of amateur athletes playing college basketball, a conversation that was elevated to mainstream media status following the infamous Zion Williamson shoe blowout/injury on January 15 against UNC that occurred this past college basketball season.

To think, there was a time where one side of a fanbase wanted a storyline in Madden video games to replicate the Colin Kaepernick saga taking place in the real NFL, but EA Sports opted to not only ignore the request, but erase all of Kaepernick’s existence from the game by going as far to delete his then-free-agent player model from the game, and delete any song lyrics that mentioned his name.

2k took the initiative and pulled the trigger on writing a controversial story, and they have shown they are embracing the change of the world around them, especially as a response to those who have displayed their discontent with the social and political stances of a LeBron James or a Maverick Carter, who have often been told by their most negative critics to “shut up and dribble”.More importantly, 2k knew of the substance they were going to let LeBron and his crew put in the game.

2k unabashedly included topics in this year’s edition that aren’t cheesy cliche’s, or cute little after-school stories that just act as a buffer into the etching in of your player into the NBA. This story is hard-hitting, and more than what the average gamer will come to realize.

Real-world problems that are happening in real-time are deeply woven into the seams of the plot, forcing the user to have a judgment of morality that can and will ultimately decide one of two things:

For the first option, you can side with your coach to play out the season, continue your basketball career and live out your dream as a graduating senior, prompting a high draft selection and a big gold star on your chest for “doing the right thing”. All while ignoring the distraction of your injured teammate’s cry of injustice and denial of any opportunity to speak your claim on the infraction.

Or you could choose path No. 2, where your player can go against the grain, your coaching staff and the support of millions of fans and media experts alike. The story will transition from the proverbial basketball story of an up-and-coming phenom with skills magnanimous enough to be a highly-touted rookie already endowed with a flush of elite basketball skill, to one of your player becoming a voice to the millions of seemingly voiceless collegiate athletes done wrong by a capitalistic system known for its greed and its mistreatment of amateur athletes.

By sitting out the last couple of games of your collegiate career in protest of your teammate’s unfair exile, you will more than likely risk your draft placement, or even worse, the single opportunity to be selected in the NBA Draft will slip from your grasp altogether. The choice gets even more difficult to make once your own morals as a human being are brought into question and you will more than likely have to decide what moral path is correct to walk on in seconds.

Is this video game storyline as scandalous or nefarious as taking a knee for a national anthem? Is the decision you must make as significant to the point where you ring the alarm to signify slander from the President of the United States by standing up for what is right? Maybe not quite yet.

But it is quite a start.

In the next decade now kicking off with NBA 2k20, LeBron and his camp may not see it now as vividly as prophesized, but they will feel their effect on sports gaming as a whole. As Americans, we have already entered this period of cynicism, where the younger and “Next” generation has said enough is enough when it comes to social inequality and failures of justice.

Folks will constantly complain about letting the cloud of social issues permeate the clear skies that are supposed to be sports. Reality is, sport is an imitation, better yet an intricate reflection, of humanity. Therefore, social issues are unavoidable, as the athletes go through the very injustices certain skeptics continually disconfirm.

Being “More Than An Athlete” is the big lesson 2k wants to drive home upon their customers once their September release rolls by, and not for the sole reason of just teaching that lesson. Much like your MyPlayer, 2k Sports is vying to cling to that role of the social pariah destined to leave its legacy on a divided social environment, but not in a commanding and forceful way but from a place of informing and teaching.

In order to understand why there is such a thing as the “More Than An Athlete” campaign in the first place, it is imperative to get an idea of how the negative conditions affect these professional and amateur athletes. Of course, fans of the series will flock to their local stores to pick up their yearly copy of the game or buy it online, making this groundbreaking strategy a brilliant tactic.

No game company has ever gone this far. Including the realism of athletes speaking out against social inequality was seen as a taboo to most companies, a “let’s never go there” kind of business move.

So let 2k Sports be the first to almost fully blend the lines between virtual and reality not just with the most cinematic in-game movie any sports gamer has ever seen, but with such a relevant story that is bound to break the barriers of introducing social justice into sports gaming, and be a major catalyst for the “Next” decade of gaming as a whole.

Check out this discussion panel on the construction of the plot and how this year’s story mode came to be, featuring the “When The Lights Are Brightest” Executive Producer Maverick Carter, Director Sheldon Candis, Lead Writer Taylor Materne and the President of Springhill Entertainment, Jamal Henderson.

The NBA 2k20 demo releases on Wednesday morning at 8 A.M. ET.