For those of us who have been waiting 13 years for a Top Spin revival, it feels surreal that TopSpin 2K25 is literally just a couple of weeks away now. As of April 23rd, it'll officially be playable on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
Before then though, we've been treated to more details about the actual game modes available in the latest iteration of TopSpin, including the all-important MyCAREER mode. There are actually quite a few ways to play, so let's sum them up!
Firstly, you've got the usual exhibition matches (singles and doubles) that can also be played online via a skill-based matchmaking system. The Top Spin Academy is used for training purposes, voiced by tennis legend John McEnroe.
The real meat seems to come from the MyCAREER and World Tour modes. The former is an offline-based career campaign in which you create your own MyPLAYER and "compete in a series of small to large tournaments" in order to become the World #1. There are Men's and Women's Tours to pick from as well.
"MyCAREER presents players with the opportunity to create their own custom MyPLAYER and rise through the Men’s or Women’s Tour rankings by competing in a series of small to large tournaments, including all four Grand Slam® tournaments, while chasing the World #1 ranking.
In addition to customizing their MyPLAYER and demonstrating the skills they’ve developed, players will also need to engage in a bit of athlete management in MYCAREER, as they decide which events to play and skip, and manage fatigue and energy levels."
Once you've built-up your MyPlayer in the career mode, the idea is to take them online in the World Tour mode and climb the global leaderboard. There's also "2K Tour", which is another online-based mode where you pick a licensed pro and compete against others to earn points and climb the leaderboard while also tackling various objectives.
Playing and winning matches in any game mode will help you earn XP and VC to improve your MyPLAYER (or simply make them look snazzier!), while VC can also be used to redistribute attribute points, hire coaches and more.
"By playing and winning matches and tournaments in any game mode, players earn XP and VC. XP can be used to improve MyPLAYER attributes and unlock coaches and fittings to define play style, while VC can also be used to redistribute MyPLAYER attribute points, hire coaches, purchase fittings, animations, and apparel to give MyPLAYERs a striking fashion sense, and more."
So, that's what we can look forward to from TopSpin 2K25 when it launches in just a couple of weeks' time on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and if you're interested, pre-orders are available right now on the Xbox Store.