Recently, I had the chance to learn more about the upcoming PGA Tour 2K21, from 2K and HB Studios, who gamers might know from The Golf Club series. Walking through some of the features of the game was something they did, but afterwards, I had the chance to ask some questions of Josh Muise, Creative Director at HB Studios and Shaun West, Senior Producer and HB Studios.

Maxi-Geek: One of the big additions to the game is Societies (online communities), will people who create on one platform be able to invite players from other platforms?

Shaun West: In online Societies or I guess any online format, there won’t be cross-play between the platforms, but we do support the cross sharing of courses. So, everything that you create in the course designer, or anyone else does, as soon as it is published, it is shared across all platforms. So, we are looking forward to seeing what people make there.

MG: Given the platforms and the number of controller inputs across them, will players be able to play them how they choose, i.e. motion controls on Switch?

SW: Unfortunately, there won’t be motion control on Switch, the input for all controllers is analogue based and using the thumb sticks, but in the discrepancies across platforms with dead zones and issues like that, that potentially come up, we’ve added a feature that allows you to go to the practice range from the main menu and allows you to take several shots with your controller and based on the results of your shots and consistency of your swings, we make some adjustments to kind of the tempo and assists that applied, to make sure it’s balanced across the board for everyone.

This is not only an issue with differences in inputs across all platforms, but also the difference in how people themselves play the game and the tempo that they themselves can create consistently, so we wanted to make sure we create and experience that is catered to them and this is a big step in allowing that.

MG: You mentioned before that you are shipping with 15 courses and another course is coming post launch, will there be any extra courses released or are you looking to the community to pad out the roster?

SW: The course designer is a fantastic tool for PGA Tour 2K21 and the games that came before it, and the community has created literally thousand of amazing courses that would be impossible for us to recreate, so the amount of content that they put out there is just fantastic.

But there is a plan to continue adding courses to the game, Detroit Golf Club and Rocket Mortgage is the event that is held there and is the one to come out post launch, and there is at least one more coming out after that as well and then time will tell if there are any additional ones following that.

MG: So, following on from the mention of the course creation, can people do crazy things like making courses set on the moon?

SW: I love that idea, a moon them would be a very fun addition. I love the casual fun, arcadey experience and being able to play at low gravity would be so much fun. Unfortunately, that is not something you will be able to do, but again I think the amount of tools and objects that people will have access to, will allow them to create some very unique experiences and courses come out.

JM: And I would say that we do have some desert themes that if you squint, I don’t know, maybe feels like a lunar setting, but Shaun is absolutely right, we are always open to feed back with those types of pieces. You know fun is a big part of this and at the end of the day it is a videogame, so we like hear about things like that, that we can build down the line.

MG: There is no denying that the music in sports games, has become just as important as the sport itself. Can you explain about what kind of soundtrack you have brought together for the game and how does it mix in with the quiet associated with Golf?

JM: So, this year, we are still leaning towards that true tour experience, so we were putting our focus more towards what the broadcast feel of the PGA Tour feels like. So, we got to work with a composer by the name of Christopher Tin who is an unbelievably skilled composer who has won two Grammy’s, won for his work in videogame score and composition from his work on Sid Meier’s Civilization.

All we did with him is say, ‘hey, here are some of the anthemic lead up pieces you see on the broadcasts, those orchestral pieces and larger dynamic scores’, and we said we want this but with a little bit of a twist, so we asked him to pivot off in one direction, and build those big orchestral compositions and find a piece that we felt that was modern balance between the two.

We were able to licence some of official intro music to some of the bigger tournaments, that you will hear when you go into play them and throughout the menu system, I believe in Chris’s terms, he calls it ‘Vivaldi meets Trap’. So, it is a truly interesting blend that again, I think it really suits the game, but in terms of a specific soundtrack outside of that, this year we worked in a more orchestral score, to help underscore the action.

MG: Finally, we know the current list of pro’s that you will be able to face off are all male and mostly American. Are there plans to introduce female Pro’s or Pro’s from other parts of the world into the game?

JM: This is an area that we are proud to bring in for the first time, but absolutely, we always want to grow, we want to build out these areas of the game as we move forward. We thought that the collection of 12 to start off with, had a strong cross section of talent, that creates an enviable group of rivals for players to test their skills against.

But ultimately we are always going to listen to our community, we are always going to listen to our fans, and we always take that feedback on board and by just being a fan of the sport in general, absolutely, there are a ton of players that we would love to get in here, from all over the world.

PGA Tour 2K21 is out on August 21 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Switch. You can check out our bargain guide, to score the best deal.