PGA Tour 2K25: A Decade-Defining Golf Game Hampered by Greedy Practices

I absolutely adore a good round of digital golf. To be honest, my love for it runs deep—I even have a Golden Tee arcade machine right at home. Back when I was a teenager, EA’s Tiger Woods games were my go-to, offering a perfect escape whenever I needed to unwind. Nowadays, I have a set of real golf clubs gathering dust in the garage because, frankly, life gets so hectic that finding time for an actual game is almost impossible. So, a solid golf video game seems like a perfect way to fill that little void in my life.

With an opening in my gaming roster, I thought I’d give PGA Tour 2K25 a shot. I enjoyed 2K’s initial venture into golf simulations, so I opted for this over EA’s latest release to see just how much the series has evolved over the years. I eagerly fired up Steam and, feeling optimistic, invested in the Premium Edition to get early access. For a while, I was thoroughly excited.

Looking back at the 2021 version, I’d say the 2025 edition from 2K shows some serious polish. It’s smoother, a lot more streamlined, and much easier to navigate. I really appreciated the assists system too—it reminded me of the ones you find in racing games like Forza Motorsport. It’s an ingenious way to balance offering both an authentic simulation experience and a fast-paced arcade vibe in one package.

In essence, diving into a game reminiscent of the golden era of EA’s PS2 Tiger Woods releases lets your custom career character earn a full 100% of experience per round. The more assist features you disable, though, the more EXP you’ll rack up beyond that baseline.

The racing game analogy fits well. In Forza, I usually turn off the racing line to snag an EXP bonus. Similarly, in PGA Tour, I’m pretty competent with driving, so I bypass assists that minimize wind impact and forgive botched swings. However, putting is my downfall, so when I reach the green, I switch those assists right back on.

With my settings customized, I was pulling in 120% of the standard EXP—naturally more skilled players can earn even more.

Earning EXP matters, as it unlocks rewards, levels up your golfer, and helps amass currency for new gear and similar items. The game’s relaxed feel with assists suits me, while knowing I can opt for a tougher challenge whenever I like is a nice feature.

Career mode complements this well by defaulting to letting you play select holes of a round—usually four or five—while simulating the rest through AI. It’s a relief, although playing every hole manually is just a menu click away. Off the course, there are mini-games, press events, and player rivalries to explore.

This nods back to the charm of older golf games—they’re strategic simulations, sure, but also heaps of fun. Golf itself isn’t exactly inaccessible—you can try it on a budget with borrowed clubs and a few friends. In gaming, though, the thrill for me is reaching a high level of play, simulating a pro career, and treating it as a leisurely pursuit rather than a stress-inducing challenge—unlike my real-life attempts.

However, there’s a bothersome hurdle in PGA 2K25’s otherwise compelling gameplay—a profit-driven element which became apparent with the game’s first update.

Here’s the catch: growing your custom character is tied to virtual currency (VC), which you earn in the game or can purchase. Need new clubs? That’s VC. Want stylish attire? Yep, more VC. Boost your character’s golf skills? VC, please!

Using currency for progress isn’t unusual; it mirrors RPGs with experience points. Offering VC for real cash is debatable, but a shortcut nonetheless. Yet, 2K has overstepped the mark here.

Once PGA 2K25 launched in early access for its most devoted players, the VC rewards were at a decent rate. But come full release, a quiet patch altered this economy drastically, slashing the VC earnings rate.

I wasn’t tapped into the PGA 2K community, yet even I noticed the stark decrease in earnings post-patch, prompting me to investigate what players were saying online. Users on Reddit revealed the grim truth: the hours needed to reach level 99 shot up from 92 to a staggering 214. VC costs for leveling up and obtaining essential gear surged by up to 60%. Initially, progress was slow, but 2K decided it wasn’t slow enough to tempt additional VC purchases. So, they pulled some money-hungry levers right at launch.

This enraged players, sparking harsh critiques on Steam. Common terms like “greedy” pepper the reviews, yet “predatory” sums it up best. My own descriptor? Disgusting. I have other choice words for those responsible, but they wouldn’t be suitable for print—draw your own conclusions.

Before this monetization mess, I was truly enjoying PGA Tour 2K25. My only minor gripe was the cumbersome menu navigation plagued by excessive screens and pop-ups. Now, though, it’s overshadowed by a blatant cash grab of a progression system, akin to one found in free-to-play mobile games—where advancing online means enduring a lengthy grind or, predictably, spending more money.

Frankly, this nonsense might be tolerable in a free gacha game, but this isn’t that. People spend substantial sums on this title—the Premium Edition pegs over a hundred pounds, with the standard still not cheap. It’s an outrageous stunt, tarnishing what might otherwise be the finest golf game in recent memory. Just like botching a simple putt on the green, 2K had crafted something remarkable and went on to spoil it spectacularly. What a pity.