Internet personality xQc, who has over 12.2 million Twitch followers, has a unique perspective on games as both a content creator and Overwatch ex-pro. As NBA 2K’s next title nears its official release date, xQc has tagged 2K games in a callout post and asked the franchise’s team to solve its hacker problem. Let’s recap the situation and what it means for the industry.
Streamer and content creator xQc has extensive history as an Overwatch pro, but he is also an avid gamer in many other titles. One of these is 2K Games’ basketball franchise NBA 2K, where players compete on the court and climb leaderboards.
NBA 2K26 is not released yet, but it’s already drawing divided reception. Steam reviews at the time of writing are “Mixed”, with 60% leaning positive. As the franchise draws closer to its newest installment’s September 5 release date, its fans are sparking discourse about the series’ state.
YO @NBA2K THERE IS NO WAY THAT IN 2025 THERE ARE NO SOLUTIONS TO THE CHEATER EPIDEMIC. EVERY SINGLE LOBBY IS RIDDLED FULL OF ZEN USERS. THE GAME IS UNPLAYABLE HOW IS THIS ACCEPTABLE? YOUR PLAYER BASE DESERVES BETTER 🗣️
— xQc (@xQc) September 1, 2025
On September 1 2025, xQc brought up his own opinions in an X.com account condemning NBA 2k’s cheating epidemic and calling on 2k Games to take action. The streamer posted in the wee hours of the night tagging NBA 2k’s official page and saying:
“THERE IS NO WAY THAT IN 2025 THERE ARE NO SOLUTIONS TO THE CHEATER EPIDEMIC. Every single lobby is riddled full of Zen users. The game is unplayable, how is this acceptable? Your player base deserves better.”
xQc’s post has since received over 7,000 likes and over 700,000 views.
xQc’s ‘Zen’ statement refers to a type of modded controller. Many NBA 2K players use them to perfectly make difficult shots using scripts.
They destroyed their community. On realse weekend, only 30,000 viewers watching 2K. The biggest creators in the world are all streaming and barely anybody is watching. It’s sad. They’ve neglected the entire community for YEARS and have allowed cheating every single year.
— Rio (@RioStaysTrue) September 1, 2025
Many NBA 2K community members agree with xQc’s take. In his replies, they call out the game’s development team for ‘neglecting the community’ and being unresponsive to player feedback. One user, @RioStaysTrue, says:
“They destroyed their community… on [release] weekend, only 30,000 viewers watching 2k […] they’ve neglected the entire community for YEARS and have allowed cheating every single year.”
NBA 2k is far from the only esports title with a cheating and hacking epidemic. Valve’s Counter-Strike 2 is notorious for hackers in every rank, and most Rainbow Six Siege players have seen AKs spinning in the sky like helicopters as an invisible player aimbots. However, most of these titles’ developers are aware of the situation and actively taking steps to combat the problems. For example, Counter-Strike 2 offers a separate FACEIT matchmaking queue that requires a dedicated anti-cheat and ID verification for all players.
NBA 2K’s franchise is a sports game titan, and also operates successfully in the esports world as the NBA 2K League. Its lineup combines esports orgs like G2 with subsets from traditional basketball teams like the 76ers, the Lakers and the Celtics.
At the end of the day, players want to see their own experiences reflected on the big screen. When cheaters run rampant, a 2K pro match or high-level stream will be less appealing, and players will lose their motivation to climb the leaderboards.
With high-engagement streamers like xQc calling out the issue, 2K Games will likely have to respond. Further developments may arise in the upcoming weeks.