Days before the start of the 2024 NFL Draft, the league has also drafted a new video game, announcing Tuesday the debut of “NFL 2K Playmakers,” a new mobile game created in partnership with 2K and the NFL Players Association.

EA Sports owns exclusive rights to NFL simulation video games through at least 2025, but 2K, the creator of the “NBA 2K” franchise and the popular “ESPN NFL 2K5” NFL game, has a multiyear deal with the NFLPA to produce “non-simulation” games featuring the names, jersey numbers, images and likenesses of more than 2,000 active NFL players.

“NFL 2K Playmakers” is the result of that deal. Developed by Cat Daddy Games, which brought the “NBA 2K” franchise to mobile, the new game is deemed a “tactical card battler,” allowing fans to collect NFL player cards, assemble an all-star roster and then call plays or engage other arcade-style games that feature on-field, in-stadium action.

Here are the specific modes of play in “NFL 2K Playmakers,” which is available via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store:

Red Zone Drive Mode: Players “draft” a custom roster of NFL player cards, then call plays to watch the players execute in red-zone drills. Successful play-calling enables cards to be upgraded or leveled up.
Seasons Mode: Players can accumulate additional NFL player cards and upgrade their roster through an NFL season, calling plays to outmatch computer or online opponents and ultimately be crowned a Super Bowl champion.

“NFL 2K Playmakers” is free to download, and anyone who creates a game account before May 7 will earn a special launch bundle, including a usable card of Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, the cover athlete for the virtual game.