Once regarded as the face of golfing video games, it was revealed today that Tiger Woods will be returning to the medium in the near future, with 2K announcing that the star has signed an exclusive deal to feature in upcoming PGA Tour 2K games. The agreement was unveiled via the franchise's official Twitter account, which posted a celebratory video hyping up the return of the legendary golfing mainstay.
The deal will allegedly see Woods' exclusively star in 2K published products, with the company confirming that he'll feature in the PGA Tour 2K series as well as "other golfing games publishing by 2K during the partnership." In a press release sent to several gaming publications, it was also confirmed that the iconic golfer will feature as both an executive director and consultant for the PGA Tour franchise, while 2K will be partnering with the Woods' TGR Foundation to help students pursue their academic passions.
"I am looking forward to making my return to the video game landscape," Woods claims in the release, stating that 2K is the perfect partner to facilitate his comeback. "[I] look forward to sharing my expertise and insights as we build the future of golf video games together." It's hardly a surprise to see 2K getting Woods involved once again, with PGA Tour's return last year allegedly resulting in significant sales numbers. Considering one of the more significant criticisms with PGA Tour 2K21 was the absence of playable pro golfing legends, Woods' return hopefully signals a new-found focus on bringing star power to the game.
Tiger Woods' video game legacy stretches back as far as the 90s, with the golfing megastar first gracing the cover of a PGA Tour game in 1998. He remained the poster boy for the series until 2013, at which point a slate of controversies saw the star dropped from the franchise and replaced with fellow golfing legend Rory McIlroy. McIlroy wasn't in the spotlight for long, with the series going on an extended break between 2013 and 2020, at which point 2K rebooted the series with PGA Tour 2K21. It appears the publisher is doubling down on bringing back the golfing IP, getting the sport's most recognizable star back onboard.
The series will seemingly re-enter 2K's roster of annual franchises, which already includes the NBA 2K and WWE 2K IPs. NBA 2K is a major annual moneymaker for the company, with its most recent release, NBA 2K21, dropping last year. WWE 2K hasn't been quite as successful, with WWE 2K20 being regarded as one of the worst games of 2019, forcing developer Visual Concepts to take a year off to work on the series' next mainline entry.
PGA Tour 2K21 is available for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: 2K (Via Eurogamer), YouTube - IGN