Take-Two's China-only basketball title NBA 2K Online's userbase has grown by one million gamers since the end of March 2019.

That's according to the publishing giant's chief exec Strauss Zelnick - who told investors while reporting the firm's financials for the quarter ending June 30th, 2019 - that the region-specific version of the NBA 2K franchise had attracted 46m users, up from the 45m cited for the three months ending March 31st, 2019.

This userbase isn't just growing, either. It is also splashing its cash. Zelnick said that recurrent spending is up 75 per cent year-on-year, thanks to NBA 2K Online 2's launch in August 2018.

"Recurrent consumer spending in NBK 2K online in China also outperformed, growing 75%, driven by the launch of NBA 2K Online 2 in August last year," Zelnick said, as reported by Seeking Alpha. 

"Total combined registered users for NBA 2K Online 2 and its predecessor currently stand at 46 million, and the franchise remains the number one PC online sports game in China. Asia, and China in particular, continues to be a significant long-term growth opportunity for our business."

He continued: "I'm of the view, and this has got to be a particularly unpopular view today that the Chinese market will soften, will open up, will be more congenial to all forms of western entertainment. And while that won't happen overnight, we're good participants in the market. We have great local partners, including Tencent. We comply with government restrictions. And we think that it is possible that that market will open up. And we intend to be first in line to the extent that it does. We also would love to see some engagement with regard to the NBA 2K League in China, and we think there is some potential opportunity there with Tencent."