Game Rant was able to sit down with Shaun West, Senior Producer of PGA TOUR 2K21, to discuss the newest update, the development process, and HB Studio's relationship with 2K. The studio started out its golf game journey with the indie title The Golf Club in 2014, nd that title featured simulation gameplay and a unique course designer. Fast-forward six years and that series has evolved into a new franchise with PGA licensing and a brand name that is as big as any in sports: PGA TOUR 2K21.
Although PGA TOUR 2K21 released only a little over a month ago, the game is already seeing its first major update, bringing three-hole quickplay matches online. West was able to share details about the update, but also let Game Rant know that there is much to look forward to in the future.
Q: Hello Shaun, with HB Studios you've been working on golf games for a long time with the Golf Club games, and under the 2K banner the series has shifted into being a new franchise. What's it been like for you to see the reception since launch, everything from WWE Superstar the Miz playing PGA TOUR 2K21 to the community that has been there from the start, following HB Studios?
A: It's been surreal, honestly. The amount of attention. Working with 2K and what their marketing team has been able to bring to the product has been really amazing. The amount of people that picked up this game in week one and the first month has been amazing. Seeing the players stick around and continue to fall in love with what we put so much effort into has been a really great experience. I think a lot of the team has been around since The Golf Club one, and working on it through each iteration to get it to this point.
I think its a testament to all the hard work from all to bring the three groups together (HB Studios, PGA Tour, and 2K) and really build a great authentic golf experience, one that also caters to a wide range of users. It's been amazing to be a part of it and I am really excited to carry it forward.
Q: On the 2K note, other than maybe the name and how slapping that on a game automatically helps out with notoriety and sales, what other ways has that partnership helped HB Studios in creating PGA TOUR 2K21 and helping this be more than the Golf Club, in what started as small-scale indie style game?
A: 2K has opened so many doors for us on the licensing side. When we reached out to people as HB Studios, a lot of them didn't really recognize who we are. But if you have someone with that 2K signature on, it draws more attention to it. So when we are talking with big brands like Taylor-Made, Callaway, Adidas, and Ralph-Lauren it really helped carry those conversations forward, and let those groups understand the vision of the product we were trying to build.
We've been able to build great relationships with all of those brands because of 2K. I think, yeah they've obviously brought a lot of attention to the product at release, but also they helped with all of that content we were able to put in PGA TOUR 2K21 as well.
Q: Golf can be a slow-paced, in a good way, and relaxing experience. And with the full release of the PGA TOUR 2K21, HB Studios did a good job representing that. As fas as the new content that was just revealed for the game, this seems to be a fast-paced mode that shifts things up. What are some of the features and highlights of the update?
A: With the new matchmaking game modes we have two, three-hole options. You can play with two to four players in a stroke match, and even head-to-head in high-rollers skins match with VC (the game's currency) on the line. And these are played over three holes, very quick in and out experience. As we're seeing people wrap up their PGA Tour Career experiences, they are trying to find other ways to play the game. And across the game, we do a lot to try and build an asynchronous experience so it can be picked up and played at one's own place.
You can't really do that in online matchmaking. If you don't have 20 minutes to play a nine-hole round against someone, there's not really a lot of options there. So introducing this three-hole experience in PGA TOUR 2K21 allows you to get in and out quickly, play on different courses, and do so against a lot of people.
Q: Is that something you purposely focused on? With the dust just settling on the release of the full game, what was your focus on with this update? Was it that fast gameplay? Was that based on player-feedback?
A: Yeah the three-hole idea was a brainstorming thing internally, trying to figure out ways to engage people outside of the career mode. I think the timing of it was important for perhaps the people who picked it up the first couple of weeks, they are kind of wrapping up that experience (carer mode), maybe playing through a second or third season, but now they have an opportunity to explore these other areas. I think three-hole mode also kind of helps someone who might be cautious about jumping into a more competitive experience.
This helps them dip their toes into a quick experience, rather than having to put nine holes in. So yeah, we've been thinking about it for a while, and we put action into it almost right away, as soon as the game launched. We've got a lot of opportunities, we are brainstorming those opportunities, for future post-launch with how we continue to build on features outside of career mode in PGA TOUR 2K21.
Q: That's a perfect segue into my next thought. Obviously, a game going gold is likely a relief in many ways, but also in today's gaming world, there is often so much more to do. This is an exciting-sounding update. Do you have any ideas moving forward for what you want to do next that you are willing to share? Do you have a roadmap of sorts? Or is it all internal at the moment?
A: Nothing we are ready to share yet, but I can assure you there are more features coming to the game post-launch. So there's something to look forward to there, hopefully, it's not too much longer before we can share some info. I'm really excited about what we are working on and I can't wait until people are able to get their hands on it. Right now, I think three-hole is a great addition that helps keep players engaged until we are able to add more stuff down the road.
Q: One of the things that could be a wonderful addition, and I'm sure it's something you've talked about at HB Studios, is adding more official courses to the game. Just curious what your favorite official course is in the game, if there are any courses you've been able to play in real life even, and then perhaps what are some courses that you'd like to see added to PGA TOUR 2K21 at some point?
A: I think of the courses we have in PGA TOUR 2K21 now, I think Copperhead is probably my favorite. It is a great course in Florida that holds the Valspar Championship, which is a really unique event compared to some of the ones that we have. It's got a great setup and the finishing three holes in that course are kind of touted as some of the most difficult holes to finish on in the PGA Tour. To be able to have that experience in the game is pretty unique and fun to play though as a user.
Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to play any of the licensed courses we have, but I'd absolutely love the chance to. We will see what happens in the future, I will definitely be knocking on some doors if I get the chance to. I think the list of courses that I'd like to see in the game is too long, there are hundreds of amazing courses around the world. Obviously, you've got something like Saint Andrews where golf kind of started, something like that would be incredible to have. You know, Torrey Pines, there are so many great big names that would be great to add.
Or even local courses, there's one here in Nova Scotia where we are based out of, Cabot Cliffs and Cabot Links, which is I think the top-rated course in Canada and it's in the top 100 in the world. It doesn't have a tour event in it, but it is just an amazing sight. I think there' so many opportunities for us to expand on, I don't think there are any right or wrong answers picking from that list because they are all amazing. But I'm definitely looking forward to what we're able to do in the future.
Q: A part of your response actually reminds me of one thing to backtrack on with the update. You were saying how the last three holes of Copperhead, one of your favorite courses, make it a really great finish. When it comes to the three-hole modes that you added, how does it work for picking those three holes? Is it something the player has control of or is it something that you sort of hand-pick depending on the courses?
A: Yeah, right now it is just using official courses that we have in the game and we've gone through and hand-picked the three holes that you are going to play. But obviously, there is amazing user-generated content out there from the Course Designer in PGA TOUR 2K21. As the game continues to grow on that backlog of courses, and the great ones come to the surface, we will continue to look at those and find ways to incorporate those into the playlists. Starting out it is just the licensed courses, but we are definitely keeping a close eye on that user content as well.
Q: So if I am understanding right, there is a chance that somewhere down the line a course that I made, well probably not me because I am not that creative, would be able to be in a playlist that HB Studios created? Perhaps in a format of "best-user courses of the month" or players competing in a three-hole quick-match in courses created from the users.
A: Yes! Exactly.
PGA Tour 2K21 is out now on PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One.