“There’s a ton of excitement for everyone here,” said Shaun West, a producer at the company. “The team has put in two years of hard work and time.”
Wellard stepped down from his role as CEO in 2015, and the company, which has about 80 employees, now is led by James Seaboyer. Over its 20 years in business, HB Studios has shipped over 50 titles which have sold more than 28 million units. It’s also contributed work to another 21 titles. It’s the first big PGA Tour-endorsed game since the Rory McIlroy PGA Tour game published in 2015 by EA Sports.
Somewhat more involved was getting a collection of courses in the game. HB worked in partnership with Terra Imaging to fly drones over the courses to capture data that was then used by the HB team to create a stunning likeness. Courses featured include TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale and Riviera. Another feature is the MyPlayer career mode, where you can guide your golfer from the Korn Ferry Qualifying School through a myriad of levels on to the PGA Tour.
“We’re really proud of being able to dissect what goes into a shot and bring that into the game so you get a sense of what really impacts how a shot works,” he said.