The calendar has turned, 2022 is officially upon us, and the new year promises a new era in golf gaming.

The PGA Tour last year unveiled a brand-new licensing agreement with EA Sports, reviving the studio’s dormant golf franchise from a hiatus that dates back to 2015.

This new EA title will (eventually) enter a gaming marketplace that already includes a Tour-branded series from 2K Sports. That franchise made headlines of its own last year, entering into a partnership with a certain 15-time major winner and the former face of EA Sports’ PGA Tour: Tiger Woods.

With not one but two Tour-licensed titles poised to compete for gamers’ time, attention and currency — virtual and otherwise — let’s take a look at what’s to come and when it might arrive.

EA Sports makes its comeback

EA Sports has been the dominant force in sports gaming for decades, annually producing popular titles like Madden, FIFA and NHL. But EA vacated the golf scene following the release of Rory McIlroy PGA Tour in 2015. McIlroy initially looked like a rebirth for the PGA Tour franchise following the exit of Woods’ as the game’s leading man, but the initial release felt unfinished, fell flat, and was never followed with a sequel.

Six years later, after ceding space in the golf world to longtime competitor 2K, EA Sports re-emerged in March of 2021, announcing its intent to revive the PGA Tour franchise.

“EA Sports and the PGA Tour have created some of the most memorable golf video game experiences together, and we couldn’t be more excited to expand our sports portfolio with a new golf title on next-gen hardware,” EA Sports EVP and GM Cam Weber said in a statement. “Our team of passionate golf fans is meticulously recreating the world’s top courses such as Pebble Beach, and we can’t wait to give fans the opportunity to compete on some of the most iconic PGA Tour courses and win the FedExCup.”

EA has since announced agreements to feature all four men’s major championships and their 2022 venues —The Masters at Augusta National, The PGA Championship at Southern Hills, the U.S. Open at The Country Club (Brookline), The Open Championship at St. Andrews — the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, the LPGA’s Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club, and all three FedExCup stops at TPC Southwind, Wilmington Country Club and East Lake.

A FAQ section on the game’s website also confirms three more major championship venues — Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, and Kiawah — a career mode, and “…….

Source: https://www.si.com/golf/news/the-state-of-golf-video-games-in-2022-from-tiger-woods-to-ea-sports