Rory McIlroy the new face of EA Sports

• Rory McIlroy replaces Tiger Woods as EA Sports’ title athlete
• Woods’ 16-year association earned him around $20 million per year
• Game expected to be released in June this year

EA Sports, creator of the world’s most popular golf video game, has revealed world No.1 Rory McIlroy as its new title athlete, replacing Tiger Woods.

The series ended its 16-year association with Woods in autumn 2013, with the 14-time major champion thought to have earned as much as $20 million per year from having his name on the game.

Unveiled last night as Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, the first game in the new series is likely to be released in June this year, more than two years after the last big console golf game, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14, hit the shelves in March 2013.

It is understood that the development of the game from Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to their upgraded counterparts, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, was one of the reasons behind the hiatus in 2014, and in Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, the game is not numbered by year so isn’t tied down to being published annually.

Giving his thoughts on being the new face of EA Sports golf, Rory McIlroy told GolfDigest.com: “When you grow up playing golf you never really dream of being a character in a video game, let alone the guy on the box.

“The technology powering the game is incredible. The courses are absolutely gorgeous and looking at screenshots from the game, you think someone just took a photo of the actual holes.

“I think games are a great way to spend a couple of hours if you’ve got downtime and just want to relax for a bit.”

The game will be powered by the Frostbite engine, which drives other leading EA titles such as Battlefield, resulting in no loading time between holes and also offering the possible introduction of some ‘fantasy’ courses to add something different to the game.

A specific release date, licensed golfers and featured courses have all yet to be announced, but with it confirmed to be coming out after the Masters tournament, doubts have been cast as to whether Augusta National will appear on the game.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour :: Your thoughts

Avid player of golf video games? What do you make of this changing of the guard from Tiger Woods to Rory McIlroy? Leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.