Tiger Woods to Star in New Golf Videogames After Long Absence
March 16 2021 - 8:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah E. Needleman
Tiger Woods has signed an exclusive multiyear deal with Take-Two
Interactive Software Inc. to feature his name and likeness in
future golf videogames.
The videogame publisher has also agreed to acquire the small
studio that makes its PGA Golf 2K series; and Mr. Woods, one the
most successful golfers of all time, will help with the development
process.
Take-Two announced the deals Tuesday, and they come less than a
month after Mr. Woods was seriously injured in a car accident,
raising the question of whether he can rehabilitate and resume his
pro golf career. Take-Two said the agreements were already in the
works before the incident and are unrelated.
Mr. Woods, 45 years old, was previously the face of Electronic
Arts Inc.'s PGA Tour videogame series between 1998 and 2013. "I am
looking forward to making my return to the videogame landscape," he
said in a statement. Mr. Woods will also serve as an adviser to
Take-Two's 2K studio.
Financial terms for the two deals and the length of Mr. Woods'
contract with Take-Two weren't disclosed. The acquisition of
closely held HB Studios Multimedia Ltd. is expected to be completed
in the current quarter. The Lunenburg, Canada-based studio will be
folded into Take-Two's 2K unit, the company said.
New York-based Take-Two is known for its Grand Theft Auto, NBA
2K and other hit franchises. Like many game publishers, it has
benefited greatly over the past year from pandemic-fueled demand
for at-home entertainment.
The first installment of PGA Tour 2K launched in August and has
since sold nearly two million units, Take-Two said. It is among
only a handful of golf games for consoles and computers that have
been released by a large publisher in recent years.
Take-Two hasn't revealed a launch date for the next installment,
which is expected to be the company's first starring Mr. Woods.
Sports videogames in general have been popular for decades and
are counted among the industry's best selling franchises.
Electronic Arts is the biggest publisher in the category with its
FIFA and Madden NFL franchises, though Take-Two has lately been
growing its sports portfolio and has emerged as a leader in
basketball with NBA 2K.
Sports is "an area of enormous focus" for Take-Two, Chief
Executive Strauss Zelnick said in an interview. Its strategy is "to
find unserved niches and then make the very best title anyone's
ever seen within that niche," he said. "That is our style."
Take-Two also makes wrestling games through a partnership with
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and last year said it plans to
produce multiple football games for the first time in more than 15
years after striking an agreement with the National Football
League.
To move into golf, Take-Two's 2K studio partnered in 2018 with
HB Studios, which signed a deal that same year with PGA Tour, the
organizer of the top professional golf competitions in North
America, to make games based on its courses and branding. HB
Studios first made a game called "The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA
Tour" and it is now focused on the PGA Tour 2K series, which
simulates real PGA Tour matches.
A spokesman for PGA Tour said the pro golfers who compete in its
events are in control of their own marketing rights and require
separate deals with third parties interested in partnerships.
For several years, Mr. Woods was featured in golf games from
Take-Two rival EA until the partnership ended in 2013. A spokesman
for EA said the company continues to have a strong relationship
with the PGA Tour even though it hasn't produced a new golf game
since 2015 when it featured golfer Rory McIlroy.
Golf ranked as the sixth top-selling sport in U.S. videogame
sales over the past decade, according to NPD Group. Football,
basketball and soccer held the top three spots, respectively, the
market-research firm said. Golf games accounted for eight of the
top 100 most downloaded mobile sports titles world-wide last year
across the major app stores, according to analytics firm Sensor
Tower Inc.
Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 16, 2021 08:14 ET (12:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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