Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Not a Yearly Title, Will Feature Free Content Updates

[RaychelSnr]

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour designer Justin Patel confirmed yesterday on the OS Forums that Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is not going to be a yearly release. This is not entirely unexpected news, but it is confirmation of that fact.

Also Patel does indicate the game will get free content updates after release as well. What that means is vague, but one would seem to think it would almost certainly mean courses and golfers being possible add-ons after the fact. Given the relatively slim amount of content available on the disk, and the pushback from fans following that reveal, this is a good bit of news.

There's also not a confirmation of what schedule, if any, any future Rory games will be released on. There has been some speculation, although currently unfounded, that Rory could eventually morph into a more subscription-based format where official golfers and courses are added and subtracted all of the time.

If you recall, EA Sports UFC released with a limited number of licensed fighters, but quickly ramped that number up with updates. It's likely that PGA Tour could be following a similar model of content releases. It's also possible that Rory will be an every other year release -- but we haven't heard official confirmation of that yet.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is set to release for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on July 14. EA Access subscribers can play the trial version on July 9 for up to 10 hours. Check out some gameplay footage here.

[GrandMaster B]

Good news.

[sarlndr]

I haven't played a golf game in almost 10 years. It may be time to end the drought and pick this title up. Great news if they update the game like UFC. Not so great if they just add clubs, tee's and balls

[jbd345]

Re: Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Not a Yearly Title, Will Feature Free Content Updates

I had a feeling this would be the case with this title. Golf is a different sport than the rest. They can get away with not putting out a yearly release. Sure Rory won't have a course creator but if they add courses every few months than that's awesome. I'm sure the power of frostbite hindered their ability to add courses on disk after seeing that video. But maybe someone could answer this. Is dlc added to the consoles hard drive rather than game data? I'm just wondering because maybe they just couldn't fit more than 8 courses on the disk itself.

[jayhawk2121]

The game is only around 26gb on the XB1, so I doubt that's the case...

[Dazraz]

I think a 2 year cycle would suffice. The problem with longer term concepts that rely more heavily on DLC is that many elements of the game will remain untouched. More Courses & more Pros is fine but in the longer term these updates won't suffice unless presentation elements & gameplay improvements can be added effectively via DLC.

[lhslancers]

Re: Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Not a Yearly Title, Will Feature Free Content Updates

Courses added and subtracted?

[brandon27]

Re: Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Not a Yearly Title, Will Feature Free Content Updates

Good news. I like the idea. It makes sense. You dont have to release a golf game yearly. Rules dont change. The game doesnt change. The players don't really change. There's no teams, etc.

I dont like the idea of "subtracting" players and courses however.

[MHammer113]

The golf club has already been successful with this strategy. This is a great move by EA

[OnlookerDelay]

Re: Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Not a Yearly Title, Will Feature Free Content Updates

The golf club has already been successful with this strategy. This is a great move by EA

Indeed HBS has been successful with this strategy and I think it's what has kept The Golf Club viable. I'm sure I would have lost interest with it early on had it not been upgraded and enhanced over it's year of existence. I don't doubt that EA Sports noticed this also and it had a bearing on their decision to go with it. They're not being copycats, just following the lead of a demonstrated winning formula. I'm almost as excited over this news as I am the "Pro" camera presentation option.... that we still haven't seen in action yet

[MHammer113]

Re: Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Not a Yearly Title, Will Feature Free Content Updates

It's unbelievable how well TGC has communicated with the public and kept the game fresh. They have done a masterful job and EA should follow their lead. Now if EA somehow created a golf course designer with Frostbite I would dish out much more than $60. It is definitely wishful thinking, but Frostbite seems extremely powerful

[cdawg44]

Re: Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Not a Yearly Title, Will Feature Free Content Updates

Indeed HBS has been successful with this strategy and I think it's what has kept The Golf Club viable. I'm sure I would have lost interest with it early on had it not been upgraded and enhanced over it's year of existence. I don't doubt that EA Sports noticed this also and it had a bearing on their decision to go with it. They're not being copycats, just following the lead of a demonstrated winning formula. I'm almost as excited over this news as I am the "Pro" camera presentation option.... that we still haven't seen in action yet

Yeah as long as EA communicates with us better, I'm more than good with this arrangement. We aren't a large community, but EA golf fans are a loyal bunch for the most part. I've been a yearly buyer since only getting 3 courses on Tiger Woods 2001 on PS2 and saw this series go so up and down. Giving the fans info about what's coming, getting feedback about what courses to pursue (gotta get Torrey Pines, Pebble, Oakmont and East Lake ASAP) and just being up front would go a longer way to settle our anxieties about this series. Before this week, it was no chance I'd buy this before it dropped to around 30, now it moved to being a day one purchase after watching the Arnold Palmer video. If we have US open, Open Championship and PGA championship branding, I'm all set and happier than a clam. Thank God we have DivotMaker and OnlookerDelay beating the drum for this series and trying to hold Tiburon's feet to the fire about not communicating and being up front with the fans.

[N51_rob]

This is fairly surprising and welcome news. I have been hard on this game for shipping with only 8 courses. This news has piqued my interest in what they have planned. Will be awaiting more news about the specifics.

[A_Quiet_Pro]

Re: Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Not a Yearly Title, Will Feature Free Content Updates

Yeah, absolutely. The initial news was tough, but if it's NOT going to be a yearly title, then that changes everything.

[jwilphl]

Now if only they would do this with every sports title (that is: not make them yearly releases). The longer development cycle would (or at least should) do wonders to actually improve the game from release to release. That said I never expect it because EA would be sacrificing 50% of their revenues, and shareholders wouldn't be too pleased.