As far as sports games go, 2K Games may be the top dog in the industry. One thing is for certain, 2K took the NBA license and worked wonders with it. And now, it looks to do the same with PGA TOUR 2K21.
Recently, Game Rant spent some time with PGA 2K21 and there are some features that will be exciting for many fans, including a super customizable course designer, a massive PGA Tour Career Mode, tons of modes and settings, new swing mechanics, and much more. But perhaps the biggest possibility for change comes come wrapped around the idea that 2K is now involved, and that this new game has a lot of resources and power behind it.
PGA 2K21 is an evolution of The Golf Club games. HB Studios has worked tirelessly at creating a genuine golf experience, especially in the absence of games like Tiger Woods PGA Tour. 2K loved its work so much that it snagged the team to work on something entirely new, but with the DNA of the successful The Golf Club games as the backdrop.
PGA 2K21 is a Brand New Franchise
Although PGA 2K21 is being created by the same team behind The Golf Club, it is not a sequel or continuation of those games. It is, instead, a brand new franchise. It has not yet been confirmed whether or not PGA 2K will have yearly iterations, much like NBA 2K, but what was made clear by the developers was that PGA 2K is its own brand identity and that PGA TOUR 2K21 is just the first of hopefully many.
HB Studios is taking all it learned from creating The Golf Club franchise, even listening to feedback from fans about those games and implementing it into PGA 2K21. There is a lot about PGA 2K21 that looks like The Golf Club, including the innovative course designer. Fans of The Golf Club should breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their beloved golf sim's DNA is inside of PGA 2K, but now HB Studios has more to work with.
What 2K Brings to the Table
When asked what are some of the positives that come with HB Studios now having the umbrella of 2K to fall back on, it was made clear that the team is extremely grateful for the resources, networking, and features that are now right at the fingertips of the developer. For example, because the NBA 2K apparel has tons of licensing deals, those same partnerships are easily translatable to PGA 2K, like Adidas or Under Armor.
On top of that, becoming a star in NBA 2K with the robust MyPlayer mode can be a defining experience. Because PGA 2K is a part of that same network, the game is adding MyPlayer with tons of its own customizable features, designer apparel, and more that can be used across all modes, similarly to how that works in NBA 2K. There are many aspects of PGA 2K that are borrowed from other games like NBA 2K, and that only improves the experience.
Some fans fear that PGA 2K will be ruined by microtransactions, but that doesn't seem to be the case. While the VC current is being brought over from other 2K games, PGA 2K21 will focus on using that currency for cosmetics mainly, along with being able to buy golf clubs that don't especially give a competitive advantage, and instead, just give variety.
NBA 2K has turned into a machine in the gaming world. Like clockwork, unless COVID gets in the way of video games, the titles are out each year and are successful and enjoyed by many. The goal is for PGA 2K to do the same. For a long time, golf game fans had a new Tiger Woods game every year, but that hasn't been the case for over a half-decade. It would be wonderful to see PGA 2K be successful enough to keep golf fans entertained for years to come.
PGA Tour 2K21 is scheduled to release on August 21 for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.