The Golf Club developer HB Studios has struck a deal with 2K games and the PGA Tour. For The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour (the latest entry in the series), 2K is publishing, and the PGA Tour is coming onboard with its official license for the career mode. It is available today for $50 on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
HB Studios first revealed the new single-player campaign that uses real-world events back in May, but it is revealing for the first time today that it is working with 2K Games. This is a big move that should help The Golf Club find a new audience — especially when the physical version launches later this year. That should fill in the gap in the market left by EA Sports’ golf series, which went defunct in 2015 after Rory McIlroy PGA Tour.
After Electronic Arts abandoned the PGA Tour license, it laid dormant for a few years. Now, HB Studios has worked to get a deal done to bring the premier golfing organization into its game.
“I’m immensely proud of all the hard work and passion that our team has put into making this game. It’s truly been a labor of love, and I think that’s reflected in the product,” HB Studios chief executive officer Alan Bunker said. “We couldn’t be happier to align with 2K and the PGA TOUR to share our passion for golf and sports simulation gameplay with franchise enthusiasts and newcomers worldwide.”
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
https://youtu.be/r-LBEo_OX3o
This is also a major opportunity for 2K Games. It has dominated the basketball video game space for years now with its NBA 2K series, and now it could work with HB Studios to do the same with golf. As part of this publishing deal, 2K has revealed that it has Visual Concepts, the studio that oversees its basketball game, working with HB Studios to polish up The Golf Club 2019.
“HB Studios has an established and impressive track record in sports simulation game development, and from its early plans for The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA TOUR, we saw significant potential in both the game and future of the franchise,” Visual Concepts president Greg Thomas said. “With a solid foundation and talented team in place, we’re eager to leverage our collective strengths and make a notable impact for golf and simulation sports enthusiasts everywhere.”
The Golf Club 2019 probably won’t do NBA 2K-like numbers. NBA 2K18 was the No. 2 best-selling game of the year in the United States in 2017, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. But 2K shouldn’t need those kinds of numbers to get a return on its investment here, and The Golf Club should help the publisher further expand its reputation for sports games among diehard audiences.
