Tiger Woods plays his shot from the second tee during the final round of the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando on December 20, 2020 in Orlando, Florida.
Mike Ehrmann | Getty Images
Tiger Woods is back to video games.
New York-based software company Take-Two Interactive announced that it has partnered with Woods to capitalize on his name, image, and likeness. This allows the legendary PGA Tour figure to be featured in his golf game PGA Tour 2K. Woods will also join 2K as an executive director, the company said.
The terms of the pact were not made available.
“I look forward to getting back to the video game landscape and I’ve found the right partners in 2K and HB Studios to make it happen,” Woods said in a statement from the Golf Channel. “I am honored to take this opportunity and look forward to sharing my expertise and insights as we work together to shape the future of golf video games.”
Woods, 45, had previously signed a deal with rival game maker Electronic Arts (EA Sports) before parting ways with the company in 2013. According to a CNN article, the company sold over $ 700 million worth of golf games with Woods. The article also estimates that Woods made approximately $ 6 million a year during the partnership that began with EA Sports in 1998.
Forbes estimates that Woods made over $ 1 billion in referrals from companies like Nike and American Express. But whether Woods will return to play real golf is the more pressing question. Woods is still recovering from a February 23 car accident in Southern California, leaving the golfer with serious leg injuries.
Take-Two owns Rockstar Games and 2K Studio, the latter of which makes the National Basketball Association’s popular NBA 2K video game. The company will also return to playing National League football games for the first time since 2005 after signing a new licensing agreement with the league in March last year.
The company released its first PGA Tour game last August, developed by Canada-based HB Studios, which it announced to acquire Take-Two. Take-Two has a market cap of $ 19.9 billion. The company’s shares rose 2% Tuesday afternoon, trading at $ 173 per share.
