EA Sports is officially back in the golf video game space with its impending release of “EA Sports PGA TOUR”. Marking its first venture back to the golf scene since “Rory McIlroy PGA Tour” in 2015, the return to consoles will feature stark contrasts compared to those that came before. Having previously featured cover athletes such as McIlroy and primarily Tiger Woods from 1999-2014, this year’s edition of the game will not include a big-name superstar on the cover. EA Sports will instead lean on new gameplay options, advanced technology and the inclusion of some of the most storied golf courses around the world.
Below is everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming release of “EA Sports PGA Tour”.
Release date
The official release date for “EA Sports PGA TOUR” is Friday, March 24, just two weeks before the 2023 Masters. This makes some sense as the game will feature a Road to the Masters gameplay option.
Trailer
Price and consoles
The game will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Featuring three different editions, each will come at a different price point. The “Deluxe Edition” is available for pre-order at $84.99 while the “Standard Edition” comes in at $69.99. Lastly, the “EA Play Pro Edition” is listed at $99.99/yr.
Features
Courses
The game will include 30 courses in total, and boasts some of the world’s most prominent venues such as Augusta National Golf Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Southern Hills Country Club, The Old Course at St Andrews Links, The Country Club, Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course, Torrey Pines, Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains, France, East Lake Golf Club, TPC Southwind, The Los Angeles Country Club, Wilmington Country Club and more. It will also feature the major host courses from 2021 and 2022 as well as the new 2023 majors courses releasing post-launch.
Players
You can play the game as Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Champ, Xander Schauffele, Sungjae Im, Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau and Hideki Matsuyama.
My Career mode
The game will include a role playing game mode-type progression in the Road to the Masters. As one’s golf game improves, the likelihood of donning the green jacket or raising a major championship trophy increases. Users will be able to create and customize a golfer and develop their skills through the 20 different shot types available. From there, players will compete in major championships, participate in some of the PGA Tour’s best events — such as The Players Championship — and ultimately the FedEx Cup. In addition to this, players can take on top amateur championships including the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the U.S. Amateur and other elite international amateur events.
LPGA and the Amundi Evian Championship
In partnership with the LPGA, fans can compete at The Amundi Evian Championship, one of the LPGA Tour’s five major championships. They will also have the opportunity to play as several female athletes as well as create a female golfer in the Create-A-Player feature and be able to participate in a series of LPGA-themed challenges and other events.
New technology
- True-to-Life course visuals: EA’s Frostbite engine uses state-of-the-art equipment such as drone technology, custom LiDAR flight helicopters and more to develop terrain maps allowing to game to depict courses exactly as they appear in real life
- ShotLink: Golfers will authentically be replicated with accurate player ratings, skills and magnified true-to-life in-game events by utilizing the PGA Tour’s proprietary real-time scoring system since 2001.
- Trackman data: Insights from TrackMan will allow for authentic gameplay utilizing a myriad of stats including club tuning, flight trajectory, landing position and much more.
What about Tiger Woods?
Woods is no longer with the EA Sports family after their partnership from 1999-2014. The 15-time major champion is now with the 2K franchise, and made it known to his followers where they can play as him.