The WNBA joins NBA Live 18 line-up

This morning I awoke to a text from a good friend. She had enjoyed playing basketball but whenever it came to playing the video games she felt disconnected because the games would always focus on the male dominated NBA league. However, this morning my friend could not contain her excitement after seeing a Facebook update by Lisa Borders, the President of WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association), stating that the women’s league will be included in the next instalment of the game series.

NBA Live has been a long instalment for EA Sports that has seen yearly releases since 1995. So that makes 22 instalments of the series without the WNBA which began in 1997. While the game will include all of the players from the 12 WNBA teams they will only be playable for single instance matches both online and offline. This means you won’t be able to take them into career mode or face them off against their male counterparts.

With female athletes already available in other EA Sports titles, FIFA and UFC, it’s very exciting for female fans of basketball to finally see themselves represented in the digital space. The female players all visited EA Sports’ Tiburon studio where they sat for detailed head scans and mocap sessions which will be ongoing until they have recorded all the players. The Executive producer of NBA Live 18, Sean O’Brien, said in a statement today:

“The WNBA is home to some of the most incredible athletes on the planet, and we’ve been working hard to integrate them into our game in an authentic and meaningful way. This is only a taste of what we have in store, and look forward to working with the league on more great integrations in the franchise in the future.”

Are you excited to see star players such as Maya Moore, Allisha Gray and Jonquel Jones on the NBA Live court? NBA Live 18 is due out in December but a demo will be available as soon as August 11th. Be sure to check out the announcement trailer below.