2025 Sports Release Season Begins With PGA Tour 2K25

I’ve been sick all week, so the newsletter is taking on an “old school” feel for this edition. We’re returning more to the roots of the original versions of this newsletter where I’m just going to go through some of the biggest sports gaming news from this past week and pepper in a couple things from the community along the way.

The idea of “comfort” takes on different meanings depending on a lot of factors and contexts (plus whether you’re using it as a noun or verb)…

…Shut up, Austin.

In this case, with me being sick all week, it’s been the sort of sickness that doesn’t quite knock you on your ass, but you barely feel like working and are just sort of annoyed by it. I’m obviously grateful it’s not the flu, or Covid, or RSV, or any other gnarly thing that would truly be whooping my butt, but it’s still annoying. And when I’m sick, I’m looking for “comfort” stuff. Food, TV, and video games can all be “comfort” things when you’re sick.

With that in mind, it feels right that PGA Tour 2K25 hits early release today (or last night if you stayed up). Now, you need to pay $100 to start playing it right now rather than next week, which is becoming the norm with most games, but the point remains that whether you start playing it this week or next, the game is out.

And golf games are “comfort” entertainment for me. I’ve played golf since I was a four-year-old bozo, and I’ve been playing golf video games for nearly as long. The mostly quiet nature of them, the fact that you don’t need to worry about AI very much, and that you can take your shot when you’re good and ready means it’s easy to play under a blanket while coughing, sneezing, and living in your own little germ-infested hovel. Golf video games are relaxing in a way real golf is not, as I can assure you I’m not nearly as chill in real life after hooking a drive into the deep rough — probably in part because I don’t then need to go and find that stupid friggin’ ball in the aforementioned rough.

I’d love to follow that up by saying I recommend PGA Tour 2K25 to everyone, but I can’t do that because I’m in the same boat as you all for now. We did get an early copy for OS, but I gave that to our long-time reviewer Kevin Scott, and so I’ll be playing on Friday just as I’m starting to feel good enough to want to go outside again. But I’ll happily stay inside and play PGA Tour 2K25 for you all because I’m so noble and deserve a parade for my selflessness.

In the meantime, OS user MrArlingtonBeach is a saint and a scholar, and he’s done great work staying on top of everything going on both in terms of news and what’s available out in the community. This thread on the forums is the spot to bookmark if you want to see what the OS community is saying about the game, and also where you can get insights from various creators (also courtesy of MrArlingtonBeach).

In the earliest hours since the content embargo has been lifted, it does seem like 2K25 has mostly positive buzz going for it. It’s at an 83 on OpenCritic as of this writing, which is very good for almost any sports game in this era. I would expect that number to dip a bit as more critics weigh in, but it’s still outpacing the 77 for 2K23 to this point. We’ll have a much better idea of where the vibes are at after this weekend, but positivity on day one is where you want to be.

I’ll probably put some of my own thoughts in the newsletter this week, so hopefully some good soup and some good golf are in my future for this weekend.

Road To The Show Gets Big Boost

Speaking of comfort games, baseball would be another one that fits in that category for me. MLB The Show is also usually the first “major” sports game of the new season. Its thunder is being stolen a little bit by PGA Tour 2K25 (and WWE 2K25 for that matter), but I think this week’s reveals went well overall. You’re never going to have 100 percent approval, but the OS faithful were mostly impressed, even if a good chunk of the info had been revealed through the gameplay reveals last week.

I’ve said it before, but “career” modes are not really my thing so I never have the strongest opinions about these modes. That said, what SDS seems to be going for this year is correcting some errors of theirs — removing the card system and giving you the ability to select where your attributes go — while trying to expand the variety of plays you’ll experience. This seems to be impacting catchers a lot, and it will impact defense overall. This is on top of the college/high school additions, which sort of remind me of old Road to Glory modes in NCAA Football. The HS and college stuff is not supposed to be too much of the experience, it’s more there to give you a little variety before you get into the minors to majors grind.

I like how OS user LoadStar81 put it for what SDS might be going for here:

When you start mixing in some film dork insights with your analysis of a Road to the Show feature premiere, you’re just feeding me catnip.

There are some who are still down on the mode, and I think those folks are in that camp due to the off-the-field elements. The “business” side of baseball seems under-represented to them, as explained to a degree by what OS user bmf395 would like to see out of the mode:

• Deeper contract negotiations, not just a couple clicks

• Other teams pursuing you in free agency. It’s too cut and dry as of last year — that’s not how FA works so maybe meetings like real life?

• Some type of star status system where you have input on the org.

• Sponsors that mean something — equipment or perks?

• Contract actually meaning something, also tie it to equipment or perks?

• More interaction with agent/manager/hitting/pitching coach

• Offseason training

If you fall into that camp, it’s easy to make the same argument for most of the game. The Show has been much more impressive on the field than off for most of its existence.

Random Musings And Way To Send Me Your Comments/Questions

Before I dip out, just a couple more quick things before I go. Speaking of The Show, I do wonder if they’re already thinking about the ball/strike challenge system. I obviously did not expect them to include it in this year’s game while MLB tests it out in spring training (though it would be cool to have for RttS minors games), but it seems like a foregone conclusion we’re going to get some version of it as early as the 2026 season. For pace of play, I assume some people don’t want the “challenge” system component of it, but it would be more fun to have that version in a video game considering we can already make the umps “perfect” if we want.

If you want to get in on the MLB The Show dirt and grass discourse that runs hot and heavy on the OS forums, OS user breakfastcat made a whole thread dedicated to it (I love our readers).

ESPN and MLB are also breaking up after the 2025 season. It doesn’t mean much for now, but anytime there’s a potential TV-rights deal shakeup, it does raise the possibility that the video game presentation could end up being changed. Even as most sports games go to their own “unique” broadcast packages, many of us still hope for a return to some synergy between the TV and video game broadcast packages. So to keep some hope alive, there is always a chance a new TV-rights holder (and MLB itself) will reach out to SDS to perhaps include that presentation package in a future version of The Show.

As a big NHL fan, 4 Nations wrapping up last night in such spectacular fashion was really all I could ask for as it relates to the health of the sport itself. It was a fantastic game, awesome mini-tourney, and more or less shows once again how bad all All-Star Games are in comparison to stuff like this. I do wonder if it would eventually feel like another boring ASG equivalent if it was an every-year event, but considering how bad most ASG experiences have become, most leagues are probably thinking about stealing this idea. Beyond that, it does feel like the NHL has some actual momentum and a real shot to reclaim some of the glory it lost with the one-two punch of a full-season lockout and breakup with ESPN back in 2004.

Finally, I have created an e-mail address that can be used to directly reach out to me. As someone who grew up reading Bill Simmons during the rise of the internet, I always loved the idea of a “mailbag” and so I give you the means to hit me up with comments, thoughts, musings, questions, or whatever else you got. If I get enough responses from y’all, then I’d love to feature them in future newsletters in “mailbags” of our own.

Here is the e-mail: NotJustAnotherRosterUpdate@Gmail.com (and bonus points if you also include your city, name (or alias), and some sort of subject to go along with your thoughts.

Until next time y’all. And, as always, thanks for reading.

-Chase