In the quest to make sure that video games are as realistic and up to date as possible, developers of sports simulation games normally get their hands on things such as new logos and uniforms far before they’re unveiled, so that the game will be totally in sync with what the team is actually wearing during competition.

Sometimes you end up seeing logos or uniforms leak way before they were supposed to be unveiled, which is what might have happened with the Atlanta Hawks and what may be their new alternate logo, which may have been unveiled a full season before it was intended to come out.

After being spotted (and subsequently vectorized) by eagle-eyed Twitter user @larryluk back in December, more and more screenshots of the logo have popped up.

From Twitter to our very own message boards, the logos mere existence in this game has brought up questions: Is this, as Larry claims, the new alternate logo for the 2014-15 season?

The claim has a bit of validity because the rest of the Hawks’ court design itself is also slightly changed, mainly in the painted key. In this screenshot, the key is completely navy blue with no lines within it, which is a trend that most NBA courts have been moving towards since the NBA eliminated that part of the lane from the rulebook in recent seasons.

Meanwhile, he logo itself looks to be an updated version of the old “Pac-Man” logo that the Hawks used as their primary logo for the better part of two decades. The main difference between the update and the old logo is that the Hawk in the new logo is much more pronounced and visible than in the old design, which explains why it was referred to as the “Pac-Man” logo. So if anything, it appears to have a bit more in common with the funky, blue-&-green predecessor to the “Pac-Man” logo.

In order to give you a better look at what players are seeing as the Atlanta Hawks court in NBA 2k14, here’s an (admittedly crude) mockup of what the Atlanta Hawks’ court will allegedly look like for the 2014-15 season.

What are your thoughts? Are you a fan of the logo? Do you think it’s an improvement over the old logo? Do you have any more examples of logo/uniform leaks like this, either in the past or for this year As always, you are more than welcome to let your thoughts be heard below in the comments section?