NBA 2K23: What Are Your Online Matchmaking Options in the City or GOAT Boat?

NBA 2K23 is mostly the same game features-wise on any platform, but at the same time, it’s like two different worlds when playing the game on new-gen versus playing it on old-gen. New-gen offers The City to explore, which this year is smaller than the previous two years. On the old-gen side, the cruise ship returns, being named the GOAT Boat.

A lot of players will play with a squad throughout their duration of playing NBA 2K games, but there a ton of other gamers who tend to play solo and decide to join up with other random players. However, sometimes things can be tough for the solo player. If you’re on a spot waiting for a couple of other random ballers to join you, there’s a possibility that an assembled team will hop on the Squad spot before your team comes together, meaning that you’ll have to wait longer for the next game.

Sometimes certain players just won’t want to play with you because of your overall rating or ranking in a Season. Well, that’s where the beauty of matchmaking comes in. If you remember the MyPlayer Blacktop days (oh how glorious they were), then you have to appreciate something like that when you’re a solo player or if you’re somebody who can’t always get your squad together. Well, fortunately, NBA 2K23 has a couple of ways for you to get in some online matchmaking action in The City or on the GOAT Boat to assure that you’ll get to play a lot more games.

New Gen (PS5, Xbox Series X/S)

As we mentioned earlier, The City is smaller and more compact than in previous games (this is nice as it makes it easier to navigate). And with this new design came some new places. One of these is the Theater. This is a place where you can get in various random games with other players from around the world.

There are four spots within the Theater that you can enter to begin matchmaking for games. However, it’s not all 3-on-3 as the events switch every Friday. So one spot might have your classic 3-on-3 while another room might have 1-on-1. There can sometimes be wacky events too such as the Caffeinated event where game speed is cranked up by a lot so players will be scurrying around the court like ants.

If you’re not into the extra stuff, then don’t worry; the majority of the time there’s a spot for regular 3-on-3 games. So this is the main online matchmaking spot in The City. You also, of course, have The Rec if you’re looking for good old-fashioned hardwood 5-on-5 basketball action in The City. It’s the same thing here as you can just hop in and get straight into a game. You can get some really good XP and MyPoints as well if the games go well.

Old Gen (PS4, Xbox One, Switch)

The cruise ship was first introduced in NBA 2K22 and was pretty straightforward, featuring courts to play 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 games. Now, the ship decided to get a renovation and change things up. Yes, the usual courts are there but now there are two permanent matchmaking courts that are available. The nice thing is that you have options here. One court is a 3-on-3 and the other is a 1-on-1, so rejoice solo players.

The 3-on-3 court is called The Bridge and takes place inside the cruise ship’s control room, which is pretty neat. Then the 1-on-1 court takes place inside a pirate ship in the middle of the promenade. Also neat. These are great ways to get quick games in consecutively while getting XP and MyPoints like with The Theater.

And with these being permanent, you don’t have to worry about things getting switched up if you’re not into the variety of game styles like in The Theater. The good old Rec is there for you as well if you want the full indoor hoops experience. So this gives you three great ways to enjoy online matchmaking in NBA 2K23. One small tip: definitely make sure to keep your teammate grade high when playing these games if you want to level up a little faster.

Related: What is Michael Jordan Challenge in NBA 2k23? – Prima Games