What is BitLife, and what does it do well?
Candywriter, a studio in Miami, has made BitLife since 2018. The game calls itself a text-based life simulator: you live a whole life one tap at a time, with choices about school, careers, relationships, money and crime across a full lifespan. Its official site counts more than 174 million downloads.
BitLife's strength is its range. One screen of choices holds a first job, a wedding, a bank robbery and a prison cell, and no two lives play out the same way.
BitLife is free on iOS and Android. In-app purchases remove the ads, open special story content and add Job Packs, which bring special careers into the base game.
Can you play basketball in BitLife?
Yes. Pro Athlete is one of BitLife's special careers, and BitLife's own TikTok account features a professional basketball player from the game. The career comes with a Job Pack, bought on its own or through Boss Mode, a one-time purchase that unlocks every Job Pack.
In BitLife, basketball is one job a life can hold, next to family, money and everything else. If basketball is the reason you play, the games below are built around it.
What is Bball Destiny?
Bball Destiny is a free basketball career simulator played in the browser, with no account required. You create one prospect at 16, in a US high school or a European minor league depending on his passport, and you live his career one decision at a time until he retires.
The game draws from 450 events. Each one offers 2 to 5 answers, and each answer shows a risk word computed from your own player's odds. Between 19 and 22 you choose the year you declare for the draft. A career can cross 7 leagues, from US high school to the NBA, and once you turn pro the market pays by role.
When the career ends, it lands on the legacy ladder, 13 rungs from The Great What-If to The GOAT. Sign it with your own name and it goes to the public Hall of Fame. One developer, Jérôme Desmares, writes and codes the game.
How does BitLife compare with Bball Destiny?
Both are games of written choices. They differ in scope: BitLife covers a whole life, and Bball Destiny follows one basketball career in detail.
| Feature | BitLife | Bball Destiny |
|---|---|---|
| What you live | A whole life, across a full lifespan | One basketball career, from 16 to retirement |
| Basketball | The Pro Athlete career, through a Job Pack | The whole game |
| How you play | Written choices, one tap at a time | Written events with 2 to 5 answers, each showing its risk |
| Where it runs | App for iOS and Android | Any browser, on a phone, a laptop or a Chromebook |
| Price | Free, with ads and in-app purchases | Free, no account required |
| Made by | Candywriter, in Miami | Jérôme Desmares, solo developer |
Which one fits you?
You want a whole life, with sport as one part of it
Play BitLife. Its Pro Athlete career sits next to school, family, money and everything else a life can hold.
You want a basketball career from start to finish
Play Bball Destiny. Every event is about the player: college or a contract abroad, the year you declare, the offer you sign, the trade nobody asked you about, the rung you retire on. It is free in the browser.
You want to play the games yourself
Look at Hoop Land, a 2D basketball game by Koality Game where you play, spectate or simulate each game. Its Career Mode starts you as a prospect fresh out of high school, with a college to choose and a draft to declare for. The app is free on iOS and Android, and Career Mode comes with its Premium Edition, an in-app purchase. A paid version for Windows and macOS is in early access on Steam.
You would rather run the team
Look at Basketball GM, by ZenGM. You are the general manager, so the draft, trades, free agents, the salary cap and the budget are yours to handle. It is free to play online, with no account needed.
Common questions
Is there a BitLife for basketball?
BitLife reaches basketball itself through its Pro Athlete career, which comes with a Job Pack. For a game built only around basketball, Bball Destiny keeps the written choices and follows one player from 16 to retirement, free in the browser.
Can you become a pro basketball player in BitLife?
Yes, through the Pro Athlete career. It is one of the special careers that Job Packs add to the base game, and Boss Mode, a one-time purchase, unlocks every Job Pack.
Is Bball Destiny free?
Yes. Bball Destiny is free to play in any browser, with no account required. Your careers save on your device, and an optional account carries them to every device you sign in on.
Is Bball Destiny made by the makers of BitLife?
No. Bball Destiny is an independent game by Jérôme Desmares, a French developer who builds it alone. It has no link with BitLife or Candywriter.
Does Bball Destiny use real NBA players?
No. The game invents every teammate, rival and general manager in a career. The build comparisons at setup name real players only to describe a style of play.
Sources
The facts about other games on this page come from their official sites, their store pages and the US trademark register, read on October 5, 2026.