It is official as of last night that Top Spin will be returning to PC and consoles thirteen years after the release of its predecessor. Many consider Top Spin 4, which came out in 2011 for PS3 and Xbox 360, to be the best tennis game ever made, a sentiment well-supported by its then-impressive score of 19/20. However, it raises questions as to why there has been such a lengthy wait for Top Spin 5 from 2K Games. The delay is not due to lack of desire or issues with development and product quality; rather, it stems from financial considerations. Creating a tennis game entails significant costs, though the budget may fall short of the $100 million to $200 million typically seen in major AAA productions. While the exact size of the current Top Spin 2K25 team is unknown, earlier iterations at Pam Development involved teams ranging from 30 to 50 people. It can be assumed that for Top Spin 4, a larger team was engaged, particularly given the acquisition and integration of French studio PAM into 2K’s Czech studio.
In reality, the largest expense in producing a tennis game involves securing endorsements from star players to drive sales. This includes players like Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray, who charge substantial fees for their image rights. For example, BigBen Interactive paid 500,000€ for Roger Federer’s involvement in the development of Tennis World Tour in 2017. Consequently, the publisher initially excluded Rafael Nadal from the first Tennis World Tour game but included him later in Tennis World Tour 2. The fees for top players such as Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are likely comparable today, although they remain undisclosed.
As a result, one needs to sell large quantities of games to achieve profitability, and we are confident through reliable sources that despite Top Spin 4 receiving excellent reviews and praise from both press and players, its sales were not strong. We do not have specific figures as they are not publicly known (rumors suggest around 800,000 copies sold in total), but at the time, a former marketing director from 2K Games shared that the sales unfortunately did not meet the threshold to justify producing a sequel to Top Spin 4.
It is understandable that some people may raise an eyebrow at the involvement of Hangar 13, known for its open-world gangster games, in developing a tennis game like Top Spin. However, it is important to note that today’s Hangar 13 includes many individuals who were part of the original Top Spin teams. In 2017, the American studio merged with 2K Czech, which developed Top Spin 4. Prior to this merger, in 2009, 2K Czech had integrated developers from PAM Development, a French studio responsible for creating Top Spin, Top Spin 2, and Top Spin 3. This means that the development of Top Spin 2K25 is not being handled by new or inexperienced teams; rather, it involves a significant number of individuals who were part of the original team, even if many have since moved on to other projects around the world.Among those key figures in making Top Spin a highly regarded tennis game are Stéphane Dupas and François Giuntini, the two primary creators behind the franchise. While Stéphane Dupas left 2K Czech several years ago and now runs a restaurant outside of the video game industry, François Giuntini remains with 2K Games in San Francisco as a design director. It is unclear whether he has been directly involved in bringing Top Spin back to players…
Currently, information is limited; we only have access to an official website and a few unconvincing details. There is a teaser available to pass the time, but now there is an expectation for more concrete information. It is highly likely that 2K Games will adopt a similar system to its other sports games, which are based on the NBA 2K business model. While this may not be reassuring given how much the NBA 2K license has been tied to microtransactions, it could be the only viable way to sustain the Top Spin franchise long-term. We take this opportunity to address 2K Games: there is no need to annualize the franchise. Instead, real-time updates and special events, along with paid DLC to maintain community engagement, would be a more appropriate direction. However, please do not ruin the license with the same virtual currency system that is slowly undermining the NBA 2K series. Rather, provide a comprehensive Career Mode featuring top male and female tennis players, rising stars, and legends all mixed together. Make us dream and, if cost-saving measures are necessary, even though development appears to be well-advanced and likely completed given an imminent release announcement, consider updating the gameplay from Top Spin 4, which was already highly praised…
