That inclusion might require a separate deal, or perhaps it could be a play to work with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, which White said he wouldn’t be rolling out “ anytime soon” back in December 2020. Also, let’s not rule out the inclusion of some of the UFC’s roster like Conor McGregor, Francis Ngannou, Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz and others with big names. It’s possible, but on the flip side, EA already has deals in place with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury based on their involvement with EA UFC 4. If ESBC has beaten them to some exclusivity deals with fighters like Canelo, Terence Crawford and Vasyl Lomachenko, would that be enough to deter EA from bringing Fight Night back? EA has traditionally shied away from stepping into any sport without significant licensing agreements with major clubs and athletes. That brings up a very important question, and also serves as at least some reason for skepticism about a Fight Night return. However, it looks fantastic, and it has generated significant buzz with some high-profile fighters like Canelo Alvarez. Steel City Interactive has been making noteworthy strides with the development of eSports Boxing Club, but it doesn’t have an official release date, and we’re still awaiting a long-form trailer. No other publisher has as deep of a sports presence. They have the football simulation in Madden, college football is on the way back, EA Sports also has hockey (NHL), soccer (FIFA), and MMA (EA UFC).
EA purchased Metalhead Software (the developers of the Super Mega Baseball series) earlier this year.
I’m told EA’s endgame is to have a presence in every virtual sports arena, in some form, and bringing back Fight Night would go a long way toward securing a major piece of the still-vacant boxing space on the sports video game landscape.Īs of now, EA is only missing an active basketball presence with the NBA Live series stuck in an indefinite state and boxing. We’ve seen evidence of this shift with the revival of the Skate series, and the additions to Madden franchise.