Tired of EA dominating the professional football video game market with their yearly Madden entry? Do you have fond memories of NFL 2K series from way back? If so, you’re in for a treat! Today, 2K and the NFL announce an NFL 2K partnership that sees the video game publisher develop “multiple new” video games in this multi-year deal!

In the press release, the partnership marks the return of football-themed games to 2K Games. The actual financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The press release sent out states that the games will be “non-simulation football game experiences.” with the specific game title, developers, and release dates announced at a later date. 2K has also confirmed that projects are in early development, and will launch “starting in calendar year 2021,” which is part of Take-Two’s fiscal year 2022 (Take-Two is 2K Games’ parent company).

The NFL is one of the most successful sports brands in the world, known for creating incredible entertainment for fans…We’re thrilled to be back in business with the NFL in a partnership that will span multiple video games centered on fun, approachable and social experiences. It’s exciting to bring together 2K’s expertise in creating award-winning sports games with the NFL’s renowned status as a world-class entertainment and sports organization. – David Ismailer, President of 2K Games

For reference, the last mainline entry in the NFL 2K series was back in 2002, with the series getting two more entries with a collaboration with ESPN. The last entry in that was ESPN NFL 2K5, which was released back in 2004 for the PS2, and Xbox.

2K Games is no stranger to the sports scene, as the publisher’s NBA 2K series is highly regarded as the best basketball sim year in, and year out. Hopefully, the NFL equivalent is of the same quality (minus the micortransactions).