Push Square: Why has it taken over 10 years to revisit the Top Spin franchise, and why do you believe now is the right time to continue the franchise?
Remi Ercolani: Although we never intended for there to be such a long gap, I can say with great confidence that right now is the perfect time for the resurgence of the franchise. We’re seeing more popularity and general pop culture relevance with tennis with a promising group of young stars, a popular Netflix series and upcoming film, and huge support from celebrity fans. It’s safe to say that we’re happy to be part of it.
Can you talk about how the gameplay has evolved and improved in Top Spin 2K25? Previous entries stood apart from arcade series like Virtua Tennis due to the way the shot mechanic worked. Can you explain how the swing is replicated here?
Ercolani: Staying true to the gameplay that players loved in TopSpin 4 while making the improvements we felt the game needed is always a challenge, but we’re very excited to get feedback on the changes we’ve made and to continue to make the game evolve over time.
We have added a new Timing Meter to help players understand when to release the shot button to get good or perfect timings and we also rebuilt the serve mechanic from the ground up. This makes it closer to what it feels like to serve in real tennis with that notion of risk vs reward.
We’ve also implemented a series of changes to make rallies shorter, by giving perfectly timed shots a bit more power and angle to hit winners, but also by making unforced errors more frequent. We wanted to keep that unique TopSpin feel, but continue to improve the formula to make the game more realistic and fun to keep players engaged for a long time.
Animations are arguably the most important aspect of any sports game. What kind of motion capture work have you done to ensure Top Spin 2K25 looks and feels like the real thing? Ercolani: For TopSpin 2K25, we had the privilege of recording motion capture with big names such as Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and multiple semi-pro tennis players from the Czech Republic, many of which had played against some of today’s biggest stars on both the men’s and women’s tours before they turned pro.
With motion capture, an actor or actress who we’ve cast to perform the specific moves we need for the game, puts on a special suit and completes a series of motions which are then captured by special cameras and mapped to a digital character.
Many of our pro players also participated in the facial scanning process, where they enter a specialised rig featuring a large array of cameras, which capture their faces and facial expressions down to the finest detail.
2K sports games, specifically NBA 2K and PGA Tour 2K, tend to have strong live service aspects. Can we expect something similar from Top Spin 2K25, and if so, how do you intend to keep tennis fans engaged throughout the entire year and beyond? Will we see new Tennis stars join the game over time?
Ercolani: Every 8-10 weeks, the game will feature a new Centre Court Pass, which will be themed according to the real tennis events that take place at the same time all over the world.
Each Centre Court Pass will have 50 tiers to progress through, which is achieved by earning Season Points through playing matches and completing Daily and Weekly Challenges. Each season, 13 tiers will contain a variety of free, themed rewards. Players can earn premium rewards at every tier by purchasing the Premium Centre Court Pass for any available Season, or by purchasing the All Access Pass, which includes the 6 Premium Centre Court Passes for Year 1 and 4 additional cosmetic items.
As we move through Year 1, and new Seasons are introduced, you can go back and resume your progress or begin your journey on any of the Centre Court Passes that have already been live.
Similarly, you can upgrade to the Premium Centre Court Pass for a Season you have already started at any time. In doing so, you will have unlocked all the Premium rewards up to your current Tier for that Centre Court Pass. World Tour, our online competitive game mode with MyPLAYERs, will also feature weekly tournaments that follow closely the real tennis calendar. And we do plan to add new content every season, so players will definitely have good reasons to come back to the game often and see what’s new.
In addition to online play and local multiplayer, sports gamers love deep and engaging single player campaigns. Can you talk about the TopSpin 2K25 career mode and what makes it unique?
Ercolani: There are a number of new exciting features specific to MyCAREER which we can’t wait for players to discover. TopSpin 2K25 is also unique in the way that it offers a multitude of different options for players to choose from when creating and developing their MyPLAYER.
As they progress through their MyCAREER, players will be able to fine-tune their attributes and play styles and decide if they want to specialise in Baseline Offense, Baseline Defense, Serve and Volley or All-Round, earn new Coaches and Fittings, master new Skills, define their look on the court with gear from top brands like Adidas, HEAD, Lacoste, New Balance, Nike, Wilson, and more.
We'd like to thank Hangar 13, and Game Director Remi Ercolani for setting time aside to answer our questions. Are you looking forward to TopSpin's long-awaited return? Serve up those comments down below.
