Just over a week removed from its huge announcement, Electronic Arts locked in the rights to Augusta National and The Masters. EA Sports PGA Tour is now the exclusive home of the historic Masters Tournament.
EA Sports PGA Tour will be the lone video game title in which players can tee off at all four of golf’s major championships. In addition to the Masters, users will be able to compete in the PGA Championship, The Open Championship, and U.S. Open. This allows players to attempt to complete the hallowed career grand slam. More details on the other major events are expected to come this summer.
“We’re honored to partner with Augusta National, home of the Masters Tournament, to feature the course and its traditions exclusively in EA Sports PGA Tour,” said Cam Weber, EVP and GM at EA Sports. “… we will bring new and longtime fans closer to the biggest events in golf than ever before.”
What we know so far
According to EA Sports, first of its kind mapping technology was used to scan the famed Augusta National Golf Club. The aerial scanning allowed developers to collect millions of data points that weren’t possible to gather when the tournament made its debut back in 2011.
EA Sports PGA Tour will launch with “Road to the Masters” content. EA says that this content will “deliver players the prestige of competing in the Masters Tournament” and “additional experiences exclusive to Augusta National.” In addition to the exclusive rights, this partnership also supports the Masters Tournament Foundation.
There have been a couple of major exclusivity agreements reached in the golf gaming world of late. Recently, 2K Sports came to terms on a multi-year agreement with Tiger Woods. This is likely an answer to that. Perhaps, we have a new rivalry brewing on the virtual links?
