When PGA Tour 2K21 came out a year ago, there was a lot of excitement about the return of a major golf video game franchise, the first since EA Sports pulled the plug on Rory McIlroy PGA Tour back in 2015. That McIlroy game was the pivot from the long-standing and wildly successful Tiger Woods PGA Tour game and only got one year before EA gave up on the franchise.
2K’s version of a PGA Tour video game tabbed HB Studios, the creators of The Golf Club, to effectively expand their golf gaming universe into a PGA franchise, and the first edition was a success, even if not a game on the scale of those old Tiger Woods games. Part of that was by design, as they put things together quickly and the lengthy course scanning process limited how many real courses they could get into the game. However, one would expect a rather large expansion for their next edition, particularly following the news that the franchise has inked an exclusive partnership deal with Woods — a deal that was agreed upon prior to his scary car accident.
“I am looking forward to making my return to the video game landscape, and with 2K and HB Studios, I’ve found the right partners to make it happen,” said Tiger Woods in January. “I’m honored to take part in this opportunity and look forward to sharing my expertise and insights as we build the future of golf video games together.”
2K is also acquiring HB Studios, rather than simply partnering with them, which hopefully means more resources and the ability to really expand the game, particularly on the PGA career mode side, to bring in additional courses, golfers, and, most importantly, customization and swings. The initial game had just one swing and didn’t scan in any players beyond their faces, making for a pretty stock experience. Given the 2K games will always be compared to the old Tiger games, it was in the career mode where it fell short the most, with a very lackluster rivals mode and sponsorships.
With Woods on board, one would expect a lot more investment into that area, as well as an easier sell to get other partnerships into the game — particularly with licensing major championships, which weren’t in 2K21, and getting even more players and courses on board. We’ll see what all that means in the coming months, but for now, Tiger Woods is back in video game golf and that’s a good thing.