PGA TOUR 2K21arrived in August of this year as the first entry in thenewPGA TOUR 2Kfranchise. Although that specific IP is new, developer HB Studios brought over much of its ideas and experience fromThe Golf Club, an indie developed series it created before teaming up with 2K. One of the strongest aspects ofThe Golf Clubwas the user-generated content, made possible by the game’s Course Designer feature, and now that designer is back inPGA TOUR 2K21,with more options than ever.
In an interview with Game Rant aboutPGA TOUR 2K21, senior producer Shaun West shared information about the game’s latest update, the relationship with 2K, and even hinted about what could come down the road with more post-launch content. One of the interesting notes was in regards to player user-generated content, and how HB Studios may find creative ways to highlight the best courses made by fans.
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Course Designer in PGA TOUR 2K21
There isa lot to love aboutPGA TOUR 2k21, and the return of the Course Designer is one of them, allowing fans to create extremely detailed courses. Perhaps the biggest change in the feature fromThe Golf ClubtoPGA 2K21is the ability to add any and all items into any biome. In the past, adding an alligator was only possible inside of the corresponding tropical/bayou style biome. Now, however, it is possible to add that alligator in a course and biome designed to look like upstate New Hampshire. This means that players are no longer limited by specific tree types, animals, and designer items in general; everything is on the table.
The combinations are now seemingly endless. It’s possible to make a course that goes toe-to-toe with Riviera Country Club in terms of beauty and scale, but players could also create a three-par pitch and putt course. Players have found ways to share courses online through social media or online forums like Reddit, for example. For the designer, it can be hard to get a creation in the hands of other players. For the players, they have to actively search for a new course to play. This may not be the case for long, however, as HB Studios is working on ideas to help the cream-of-the-crop creations shine inPGA 2K21.
Implementing User Created Content into PGA TOUR 2K21
When discussing how thenew update forPGA 2Kallows for three-hole quickplaywith Game Rant, Shaun West discussed how the team is “keeping a close eye on user content” and thinking of creative ways to implement it into future post-launch content. Currently, online quick-match play allows for players to compete on the pre-designed official and licensed courses that HB Studios added to the game, but that could change. West continued to say,
“as the game continues to grow on that backlog of (user-designed) courses, and the great ones come to the surface, we will continue to look at those and find ways to incorporate those into the playlists.”
We followed up that statement by asking if that means that there’s a chance down the line that HB Studios will take the best courses made by the players and create playlists such as “best-user courses of the month” or simply add them to the rotation in three-hole quick play. West nodded and simply said, “Yes! Exactly.”
HB Studio’s golfing simulator continues to grow.PGA TOUR 2K21launched with solid reviews, and now fans are able to look forward to post-launch content, such as the recently released three-hole mode. West told Game Rant that the team is looking to “keep players engaged.” Some of that new content could be more modes, new licensed courses, or fresh gear to unlock. “I’m really excited about what we are working on and I can’t wait until people are able to get their hands on it,” West stated, and there’s a strong possibility that some of that will be implementations from users of thePGA TOUR 2K21community.
PGA Tour 2K21is out now on PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One.
