Future of golf games

[bigkev]

I'm not sure what it means for the future of golf games for EA and 2K, just saw that Patel left EA to join 2K. He was the Senior Game Designer for EA Sports PGA Tour. Like somebody said on another forum, maybe he's jumping ship and we're getting another one and done for EA Golf.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: Future of golf games

I'm not sure what it means for the future of golf games for EA and 2K, just saw that Patel left EA to join 2K. He was the Senior Game Designer for EA Sports PGA Tour. Like somebody said on another forum, maybe he's jumping ship and we're getting another one and done for EA Golf.

And in additional news related to this, I have found out via other channels from someone in the know that another EA employee changed teams from EA to 2K within the last year as well. Sounds like both the former EA employees are in fact working on 2K/HB's golf development team.

But Justin Patel moving over seems like a major deal...according to his LinkedIn profile, he was the "Design Lead for all in-game features (Gameplay, Golf Courses and Presentation)" for EA's game. And he was part of the EA dev team on golf games dating back to Tiger Woods 12...wow.

[Dawgfan1]

Re: Future of golf games

That seems like a pretty big loss for EA and gain for 2K, but it feels too early to draw any conclusions. EA's game will likely be receiving updates through the end of 2024 at least, there would likely be a bigger exodus around then if this is another one and done. Could just be isolated events of people leaving EA.

[jbd345]

Re: Future of golf games

I wasn’t expecting more than a one and done for ea after the hot mess that was the launch. 2k won’t survive much longer on 10 year old plus engine. So hopefully this means a redesign is coming for 2k. if pga is going to be a staple franchise for 2k, graphics need to be on par (no pun intended) with nba.

[bigkev]

Re: Future of golf games

What is the current live service timeline?
The 2023 major courses including Oak Hill, Los Angeles Country Club, Royal Liverpool as well as Olympia Fields as a part of the FedExCup series and Marco Simone for the Ryder Cup will be released prior to each major championship.

We will also be releasing updates alongside golf’s biggest moments like The Majors, FedExCup and Ryder Cup with compelling new content tied to current and historic golf moments for players to enjoy.

The game will launch with Road to the Masters and will include a variety of Masters-themed Challenges. We’ll share more details about the live service timeline after launch.

That's all they promised, we will be very fortunate if they keep updating this game until end 2024.

[bigkev]

Re: Future of golf games

I wasn’t expecting more than a one and done for ea after the hot mess that was the launch. 2k won’t survive much longer on 10 year old plus engine. So hopefully this means a redesign is coming for 2k if pga is going to be a staple franchise for 2k, graphics need to be on par (no pun intended) with nba.

Yes, I thought about this too... maybe a new team working on a golf game with a new engine.

[jbd345]

Re: Future of golf games

Yes, I thought about this too... maybe a new team working on a golf game with a new engine.

New engine plus old gameplay mechanics would be best case scenario. Imho I think the course designer is on borrowed time.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: Future of golf games

Yes, I thought about this too... maybe a new team working on a golf game with a new engine.

From what it sounds like, per an HB employee, Patel is not working on anything with the game's engine.

Someone on a Discord channel I am on asked a bit of a silly question about EA devs moving to 2K, asking which one of the EA guys is making the decision to ditch Unity for good, and the HB employee laughed and said that "the Unity thing isn't him [Patel] unfortunately".

[Dawgfan1]

Re: Future of golf games

That's all they promised, we will be very fortunate if they keep updating this game until end 2024.

That's what I thought too until the Apex video with one of the devs where they talked about the game being live service and not releasing a new game in 2024. I highly doubt they'd be saying those things publicly if they didn't plan on having updates next year.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: Future of golf games

That's what I thought too until the Apex video with one of the devs where they talked about the game being live service and not releasing a new game in 2024. I highly doubt they'd be saying those things publicly if they didn't plan on having updates next year.

The Q&A that was quoted here by bigkev relating to the timeline came out on February 17. So the fact the game was following the live service model was known well before release.

I did just re-watch the ApexHound interview with the EA dev, and he did say they'd continue to keep updating the game. He said they were going to be updating the game for the foreseeable future, using the Pro Pass as the "glue that is gonna be sticking everything together long-term" with new seasons and content coming down the pipeline.

I have no idea when the next season will happen after the Ryder Cup (maybe The Sentry in January, when the 2024 season starts?), but I guess it does seem they'll at least be supporting it into 2024. How long into 2024 is anyone's guess.

[MHammer113]

Re: Future of golf games

New engine plus old gameplay mechanics would be best case scenario. Imho I think the course designer is on borrowed time.

I’d be very surprised if the designer goes anywhere. The community is too big and adds too much longevity to the game for it to disappear. If 2k can somehow get rights to the Majors like EA, I could maybe see them getting rid of it

[jbd345]

Re: Future of golf games

I’d be very surprised if the designer goes anywhere. The community is too big and adds too much longevity to the game for it to disappear. If 2k can somehow get rights to the Majors like EA, I could maybe see them getting rid of it

It’s also the least updated asset they have. Wasn’t the most recent update the first they had touched it since release? That’s more telling than anything.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: Future of golf games

It’s also the least updated asset they have. Wasn’t the most recent update the first they had touched it since release? That’s more telling than anything.

They have added several themed asset packs since release: a holiday/Christmas one, a UK one, a "sticks and stones" one, an "urban" one, and the newest one which just came out last week - an Asian themed one.

[jbd345]

Re: Future of golf games

They have added several themed asset packs since release: a holiday/Christmas one, a UK one, a "sticks and stones" one, an "urban" one, and the newest one which just came out last week - an Asian themed one.

Gotcha. I’ve only seen the last one get any notice on these forums so that’s probably why I missed the others. I haven’t touched the designer myself in months so that’s also a reason. I find to difficult to hone in on a specific yardage for a hole with the analog sticks.

[lowpaiddonkey10]

Re: Future of golf games

I’d be very surprised if the designer goes anywhere. The community is too big and adds too much longevity to the game for it to disappear. If 2k can somehow get rights to the Majors like EA, I could maybe see them getting rid of it

I hope whoever 2k manages to bring over from EA doesn't have any input into the game play mechanics. You might like the look of the EA game but if you're honest the gameplay ain't very good. The only way 2k can get away with dumping the designer is if EA goes bye bye in the golf space.

Getting the majors is only meaningful if they manage to implement a deep career mode.