PGA Tour 2K23’s career mode gets more RPG-like

polygon.com:

PGA Tour2K23 will introduce new player progression elements, for both career mode and online play, when 2K Sports’ golf simulation launches next month. Combined with other changes to the game’s popular MyCareer mode, HB Studios is offering both a deeper, more RPG-like experience for both online and solo-playing golfers, and one more consistent with career modes seen in other licensed sports titles.

Big picture, playing in both online and career modes will earn players skill points, which they can apply on a club-by-club basis to level up their performance. Players will max out at 50 skill points, however. With 14 clubs in their bag, they’ll effectively have to create a character build that either enhances their strengths or covers up their weaknesses, Shaun West, the game’s producer, said in a media event last week. Players will start their build by selecting one of five archetypes — specializing in driving, putting, short game, and the like — and then they can further develop their character with the new skills system.

“The skills have three levels each, so you won’t be able to unlock everything,” West said, “and you’ll have to choose wisely based on how you’re playing, and what clubs are set up in your golf bag.”

Club skills will be supplemented by “fittings,” which for non-golfers means changing a club’s head, shaft, or grip. These also enhance a player’s performance with that club. The items can be earned after completing ordinary rounds, beating a designated rival golfer, or advancing through the Clubhouse Pass (basically a battle pass-style season of content offerings). Players may also acquire sleeves of golf balls (although their use is infinite) that perform differently — longer drives, softer landings, etc. —