Pga 2k25 Augusta National theory

[Btj98]

Pga tour 2k25 according to the official pga tour website says it will launch with 29 official courses. But my question is why 29? I think i may have figured something out. When EA sports announced they were coming back into the golf video game world they had Augusta National announce that they were partnering with the company. This was April 7, 2021 and the game released April 7, 2023. Now when EA originally first got the licensing deal with Augusta all the way back in 2011 the deal was only for 3 years or 3 games at the time. Tiger 12-14. By the time Rory pga tour came out in 2015 EA did not have the rights to Augusta any longer.

So this makes me wonder if my calculations are correct and if Augusta National signed the same deal they did in 2021 for 4 years like they did in 2011 then 2k is quite literally waiting for EA’s deal to expire in April 2025 to be able to acquire the rights. This could mean an Augusta National pga 2k announcement during masters week this year like they did for EA to bring the game to an even 30 courses. Or 2k would probably have to wait a year to be able to put the course in the game in during a 2026 update.

Now there are 2 things that could make this theory wrong.

1st this game is releasing on February 28. If 2k thought they could get the Augusta National license this year and could have the course ready in time then I’m pretty sure they would release the game in April most likely. This makes a 2026 update more realistic.

2nd as of the day I’m writing this you can still buy EA pga tour rn on any gaming store and you can still buy cosmetic items in the store as well. If the deal was ending I’m pretty sure the game would have to transition to an offline only game and the game would have to delist from the store since Augusta usually signs exclusive deals. As of rn there are no signs of this happening. Now as of currently per my own research there are no developers even associated with EA pga tour any longer and all lead designers have either completely left EA like former lead designers Justin Patel and Craig penner. Or work at EA in another studio like former lead designer Ben Ramsour.

So 2k may be able to get the rights to Augusta as soon as this year! And they may be able to have the course in the game by as early as this year in April 2025 or most likely by 2026 as long as EA’s deal expires. Please give your thoughts and opinions on if you guys think this is too far fetched or could this realistically happen. Let me know!

[MrArlingtonBeach]

They have said the game will launch with 29 licensed courses, but have also already announced that St Andrews will be in the game, coming in "Season 2". So we do know that 30 real-life courses will be in the game within a couple months of release.

And they said in their FAQs that each season will last around 12 weeks, so St Andrews will be added to the game sometime in May or thereabouts if Season 1 starts when the game releases.

I guess my thought is, if there'd be any chance of getting Augusta for launch or soon after, they'd have already said as much. That would be a huge selling point to pick up pre-orders, and would be a huge coup for 2K, much in the same way getting 3 of the 4 Majors and St Andrews is.

If Augusta were to be coming to 2K, I would assume it would more likely happen a ways down the line...2026 makes more sense if it were to happen.\

EDIT - 2K announced that their mention of 29 licensed courses at launch was incorrect...the game will launch with 27 courses.

[bigkev]

I have no doubt it's not coming for this game. Augusta is very picky, the course would be the center of everything in the game like in those for EA. Maybe EA has the exclusive rights for so long and there is an ironclad unable to get out of it. Or Augusta could be too expensive, and there's not a return of investment for the amount of games 2K is selling.

[hyacinth1]

Is EA releasing PGA Tour 25 this year? I have not heard anything about it. Why would they sit on the Augusta rights after paying for them.

[rockchisler]

Quote: Originally Posted by hyacinth1

Is EA releasing PGA Tour 25 this year? I have not heard anything about it. Why would they sit on the Augusta rights after paying for them.

Comes out Next month


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Quote: Originally Posted by hyacinth1

Is EA releasing PGA Tour 25 this year? I have not heard anything about it. Why would they sit on the Augusta rights after paying for them.

As far as we know, EA is not coming out with a game. It also seems the majority of EA Golf's dev team is no longer with the company, or are working in other areas on other games.

[hyacinth1]

Quote: Originally Posted by rockchisler

Comes out Next month Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

do you have a link? I don't see anywhere EA is saying a new PGA Tour game is coming out i 2025. If it was next month I'm sure EA would have announced it months ago.

[Maxflier]

Guessing he misunderstood and meant the 2K game.