After Dropping Tiger Woods, EA Signs Rory McIlroy As PGA Tour Cover Star

After parting ways with Tiger Woods in 2013, Electronic Arts on Monday announced a new face to lead the developer's PGA Tour franchise into the future. Current World No. 1 Rory McIlroy will be the "cover athlete and namesake" of the PGA Tour franchise, Electronic Arts has revealed.

The first game with McIlroy at the helm, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, will launch in June 2015 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. EA says McIlroy "represents a new generation of players for a new generation of consoles." McIlroy, 25, has won four Majors and is considered the best player in the game of golf right now.

"I grew up idolizing the best golfers in the world, and now I'm one of them," he said. "One of the ways I idolized them was in video games. Playing video games is one of the ways I try to relax in my downtime, and one of my favorite video games was golf. That's what makes today's announcement so exciting to me. I am on the cover of EA Sports Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR and it's named after me. That is crazy! I am more excited than I can possibly put into words."

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is the first EA Sports game built using the Frostbite engine, which gamers may know as the toolset that powers the Battlefield and Need for Speed franchises.

EA's tagline for Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is "Golf Without Limits," in part because the game will not feature load-times between holes. Anyone who has played a PGA Tour game from EA before probably knows how frustrating those can be.

"This new toolset allows the development team to create beautiful new environments, featuring the most detailed courses in franchise history," EA says. "Frostbite also renders the entire course at once, eliminating load times between holes and allowing users to play their shot from almost any location."

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is aiming to be an authentic golf simulator, but it's also going to be kind of crazy, as it will feature jets, warships, and explosions. The game was originally slated to launch by March 31, but it was later delayed to summer. This delay is somewhat significant, as it means the title will launch after April's The Masters, which is one of golf's biggest tournaments.

What do you make of EA choosing McIlroy to bring the PGA Tour franchise in the current generation of consoles? Let us know in the comments below!