TopSpin 4 is 13 years old, but it is still hailed as the best game in the franchise and the best tennis game on the market to date. After all these years, the franchise is expanding once more with the release of TopSpin 2K25 in April, which brings in the focus on the culture and quality these 2K sports games are known for. In other words, 2K and developer Hangar 13 are putting tennis on the same "2KXX" pedestal as NBA 2K, WWE 2K, and PGA Tour 2K. Timing-wise, it's worth noting that WWE 2K24 recently released to positive reviews, spelling an equally exciting future for the TopSpin franchise.
Game ZXC recently sat down with TopSpin 2K25 director Remi Ercolani, who is a veteran having worked previously on TopSpin 2, TopSpin 3, and TopSpin 4. On the latter, Ercolani was the gameplay designer focused on player behavior and interactions, animations and motion capture, and overall gameplay balance. Ercolani is but one of many veterans on the team, ensuring that TopSpin 2K25 has all the tools and experiences needed to be as good, if not better than, TopSpin 4. During our conversation, we talked about everything from returning to the franchise after 13 years to how TopSpin 4's code holds up and the iterative process of this game's balance. The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Every Top Spin Tennis Game, Ranked
With the long-awaited announcement of Top Spin 2K25, there's never been a better time to reflect on this beloved tennis series.
TopSpin 2K25: 13 Years Later
Q: Just to kick things off, what's it like to work on TopSpin again after all this time?
A: I was personally super excited. I'm a big tennis fan, I really love the TopSpin franchise, and I was super excited to have the chance to bring the game on modern consoles and platforms for a new generation of players. I was super thrilled when I found out that we were making the game.
Q: Because it's been so long, what do you think the modern hardware adds to TopSpin?
A: I think it's a lot of immersion, the whole atmosphere, the way the stadium looks, the way the crowd reacts to the points, and even the animations. Visually, each player's animations, cloth simulations, hair simulations, all of that really makes you take a moment when you see somebody play the game. You're wondering for a few seconds if somebody is playing the game or watching a real match on TV. All of that, and that's something that 2K in general tries to do with all its sports titles - making them look as real as possible. Even in terms of the cameras we use for player intros and all that is meant to replicate what you see on TV.
Q: Speaking of the crowd, it's pretty typical to see a lot of repeat NPCs in crowds and stadiums in sports games, but I haven't seen any yet? Are they there?
A: I'm sure there's going to be a lot of repeats, but we have a really good system where we can have different heads or clothing. You don't see the repetitions all that much, but like any crowd system, we use a limited number of assets. It's just the way we mix them and combine them together with patterns, camera angles, things like that.
The crowd is also different for most venues with the way they dress and the accessories they wear, and all of that depends on the time of day as well. That's going to contribute to you not always seeing the same thing when you look at the crowd.
Q: TopSpin is getting the 2K treatment now with 2K25. What does the 2K branding bring to TopSpin? What makes this TopSpin 2K25?
A: I think it makes sense in terms of the authenticity we're looking for. We have all those other sports titles like PGA, WWE, and NBA, and we really wanted to bring tennis into that portfolio and bring players that same experience in terms of visual and gameplay quality. We're also faithful to the sport and want to make players feel like they're playing tennis. I think that's why it makes perfect sense to add the title of 2K25 to TopSpin. It's that same experience but for a different sport.
Q: What's the process for taking what happens in a tennis match and bringing it into the game?
A: We use the same core gameplay and animations as Top Spin 4 so we've done this over multiple iterations. We all watch a lot of tennis, and every time we see something, we think how can we add that to the game if it wasn't already. There's a lot to consider. You have all the different types of shots a tennis player can have, even the end of points based on how players react. We've tried to really capture the main types of reactions. For example, there are some very little details you're going to see very occasionally. Like, when you win a point after a let, if the ball hits the net and then just drops on the other side, you're going to see your player apologize to their opponent.
It's really trying to capture all the little things that are unique to tennis and stuff you can do, even if you don't see it very often. It's exciting every time because you're like "Oh my god, I haven't seen that in many hours." It's pretty exciting to get that variety overall.
Q: The moment-to-moment gameplay feels so tense, like in a good way. What are sort of the challenges or emotions you wanted to evoke in that gameplay?
A: Of course, yeah, what I'm really interested in is the opposition of styles between two players, especially when you play online. It's fun trying to discover the tactics that your opponent is going to play and how to counter them, how to take advantage of your play style, and how to take advantage of their weaknesses as well. It's all of those things, while trying to figure out how to beat your opponent. That's really what we're after.
When you see two really good players meet up, players on the same level, then you can really see the thought process of like, "Oh my god, he's doing that, that's the second time he did that, what can I do to counter that?" It's the same in real tennis when you play somebody you don't know for the first time and try to figure out their game, what you can do to win the points, and what you can do to win the match. That's the main feeling that we're trying to get.
There's almost like there's a strategic element to it.
Yeah, you're trying to figure out these patterns of play and what you can do to disrupt them. That's really what tennis is.
A New TopSpin Experience in 2K25
Q: The team has reused some of the old Top Spin code. I was curious as to what prompted that decision, how has it benefited the team, and I guess why pull 13-year-old code for the game?
A: Well, the main reason is that the game was still popular. You see it every time people comment on the game or reminisce about Top Spin 4. It's always like, "Oh my god, this is the best tennis game." We wanted to start with that because it's still good.
Early on, we did user tests with the actual Top Spin 4 game just to see how it stood up in 2021 (whenever we started the test), and it still got very positive feedback from players. It was a simple choice to start there, and just expand and build on that because it still looked and played really good. The way players move, how players hit, the variety of the shots, and all of that still makes sense even in today's landscape, so we just didn't want to lose that. It took years to get that formula of gameplay in Top Spin, so we just wanted to take that, update it, and expand on what we thought were the weaknesses of Top Spin 4.
Q: In terms of general development and bringing in that code, updating and expanding it, was there any specific element that underwent the most iteration to get right?
A: That's a good question. I think for gameplay, there are always things that take time. We tried to make rallies a little bit shorter, which meant finding ways to have more winners and a few more unforced errors. It was a challenge to do that without frustrating the players and making them feel punished. We had to make sure we avoided those pitfalls. That always takes a lot of time. It's a very iterative process. We make small changes, we test, we collect feedback, and we repeat. That's something that's going to keep happening, even when the game goes live. There's going to be more minor tweaks that we can do, so it's very time-consuming. It feels like it never ends.
Q: In a similar vein, was there anything the team wanted to add to TopSpin 2K25 that you just couldn't get off the cutting room floor for whatever reason?
A: Not really because we knew what we wanted in terms of scope from the beginning, so there was nothing major we had to cut. There are always a few small features here and there, but we're really where we want it to be in terms of the final game. I can't think of anything we absolutely wanted and couldn't have in this build.
Q: And part of that is just having all that experience from Top Spin 4?
A: Yeah, exactly. We have a few vets from Top Spin 4; I'm just one of them. Being able to see how long it takes to build or change something in the plan helped us keep things under control and not go crazy with the scope.
Q: For you and the others, was it like riding a bike when going back to Top Spin?
A: Yeah, kind of. When I started working on the project, I remember taking my old Xbox 360 out and playing the game. I haven't used it in years, literally, but I still like to pull it out from time to time. I turned it on just to see how Top Spin felt. I watched some YouTube videos on it, and all the comments are still really positive. Like, "It's still fun" or "I'm still playing it in like 2022 or 2023." That was really heartwarming and gave us the motivation to get this game out for new audiences and players who are familiar with the last one.
Q: What are you hoping plays take away from TopSpin 2K25 once they have hands on it in April?
A: I'm hoping players enjoy it as much as Top Spin 4, at least, and see all the improvements that we brought in. It'd be great if they think the game is better than Top Spin 4 and just be excited to play online. It's really great just to bring it to the newer platforms and bring that updated visual experience to everyone.
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TopSpin 2K25 releases April 26 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
