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The NBA Playoffs enter their second week on Saturday, so Microsoft and 2K Sports figure it's as good a time as any to offer NBA 2K15 free on Xbox One from Friday through Sunday.
Xbox Live Gold subscribers can get a full copy of the game and will be able to play all of its modes and features, the Xbox Wire says. It will be available from 3 p.m. ET on Friday until 3:01 a.m. ET on Monday. After that, access expires, but saves, achievements and other progress associated with play is preserved in case the full title is purchased later.
An option to convert the trial access to a full purchase will be available, of course, and Microsoft is trying to sweeten that bargain with a discounted bundle that includes a wad of Virtual Currency, which is used to bling out created players in the game's MyCareer mode. The promo bundle will be $43.54, or 33 percent off the regular price.
Be advised that NBA 2K15 is a hefty download: 46.61 GB, one of the largest in the sports simulation genre, so plan accordingly, especially if you have slow internet.
Last week, NBA 2K15 simulated the NBA playoffs and predicted Golden State as winners over LeBron James and Cleveland in the NBA Finals. In real life, both teams are leading their first-round series 2-0.
Polygon scored NBA 2K15 a 6, with nearly all of the markdown coming for technical difficulties in its many online modes, which stabilized about three weeks after its October launch. "If the guts of the game are available, NBA 2K15 is the best sports title of the year," we said at the time.
