2K announced that retired football player Thierry Henry will be featured in the upcoming NBA 2K17. As in real life, Thierry Henry will be a regular court side star during home games of the San Antonio Spurs.

In NBA 2K17’s Blacktop mode, where you can play different types of basketball games ranging from 1 vs 1 to 5 vs 5, Thierry Henry is available as a playable character, where you can test his skills against the greatest players of all time.

NBA 2K17 has partnered with Fitbit to reward healthy activity amongst gamers through in-game rewards. In a first-of-its-kind integration, gamers around the world who achieve 10,000 steps in a day tracked with their Fitbit device will receive a temporary attribute boost to their MyPLAYER in NBA 2K17, enhancing their MyPLAYER’s performance on the court.

“Any athlete will tell you that a healthy lifestyle is a major key to success and by rewarding gamers for healthy lifestyle habits we hope to help motivate them to achieve their goals in life and in-game,” said Alfie Brody, VP of Marketing for NBA 2K. “Our brand is synonymous with breaking down boundaries of what a game can achieve, and we are thrilled to continue that tradition through this Fitbit integration.”

“It’s exciting to see Fitbit and 2K working together to reward gamers like me in a unique way,” said Harrison Barnes, Fitbit Ambassador and professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks. “It’s an extra incentive to get my target steps per day because not only am I getting a physical edge, but a gaming edge, too in NBA 2K17. Now my friends and family will have to step up their game to keep up with me.” 

Starting November 25, 2016 the all-new NBA 2K17 feature will make it easy for players to boost their MyPLAYER by keeping active in the real world. Once users connect their Fitbit tracker with NBA 2K17 on Xbox One and PlayStation®4, their real-world step activity can start working toward the 10,000 steps per day goal for receiving in-game boosts. After users reach the steps milestone, the game will prompt them to apply temporary +5 attribute boosts and success rate to their MyPLAYER in categories like agility, layups and dunks, and more that will significantly improve performance for the next five games played that day.

“As a former video game industry executive, I’m excited to help shape the first-of-its-kind integration between a wearable and a console video game, motivating gamers of all ages to be more active throughout the day by giving them in-game rewards for their real-world fitness activity,” said Tim Rosa, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at Fitbit. “This partnership speaks to the long history of innovation from both of our brands. We think it’s just the beginning of what’s possible as we create new ways to keep our community engaged and motivated to be healthier and more fit.”

With this integration, 2K is added to the growing list of brands that are part of the Works with Fitbit program, which lets developers, brands and users seamlessly connect the Fitbit platform to popular health and wellness apps, services and hardware products, and now games and interactive entertainment making it easier for consumers to achieve their wellness objectives.

For the first time in NBA 2K history, gamers – both new and old – will get to start their MyCAREER experience prior to the game’s launch on September 20 through “The Prelude”, which was designed specifically to give them an introduction to NBA 2K’s legendary MyCAREER mode, placing the user at the center of an epic basketball story. MyNBA2K17 will let you connect with NBA 2K17 wherever you are – the bus, subway, the court, a store, anywhere. The mobile companion app also features facial scanning technology which imports your likeness directly to the game. Jumpstart your MyCAREER now – it'll be waiting for you when you pick up NBA 2K17.

Flipping over to the MyTEAM mobile side of the app, you'll be able to earn even more VC by competing against players across the world in Quick Games and by completing MyTEAM mobile's rotating Goals. The feature enables gamers to start building up their deck and collect cards of their favorite players.