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The UFC and video game developers Electronic Arts announced that they have extended their partnership for ten more years.
The UFC and EA collaborated in 2014 to release the first title in the franchise, EA Sports UFC, back in 2014.
Since then, the two companies have worked together on three succeeding titles, as well as a free-to-play version of the first installment for mobile devices.
“We’re thrilled to extend our more than 10-year partnership with the UFC as we continue to build one of the fastest-growing sports franchises in the world, based on the rapidly expanding sport of MMA,” said Cam Weber, Executive Vice President & Group GM, EA Sports via the official press release. “This agreement will allow us to push the creative boundaries of mixed martial arts video games and connect millions more around the world to the culture of the sport.”
“We’re thrilled that we will continue our partnership with EA for the next 10 years,” added Tracey Bleczinski, Senior Vice President, UFC Global Consumer Products. “EA Sports has become a natural extension of UFC’s brand and an important way to engage with our fans. We’ve just launched our most successful game to date and EA keeps proving there’s room to grow and introduce new fans to the sport. We’re going to keep pushing the boundaries together and make incredible games that UFC fans love to play.”
UFC and EA have been pretty successful in making MMA-based video games
2014's EA Sports UFC, the debut game in the franchise, featured then-UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and rival Alexander Gustafsson on the cover. The game was received quite fairly, getting an aggregate score of 70/100 from Metacritic for both the PS4 and XBox.
The sequel, EA Sports UFC 2, was released in 2016 and featured Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor - two of the sport's biggest names at the time - on the cover. The second installation of the EA Sports UFC franchise got better reviews, posting a 79/100 aggregated score for the PS4 on Metacritic, as well as picking up a pair of awards from Forbes, including Best Individual Sports Game.
EA Sports UFC 3, the third game in the franchise, was released in 2018, with Conor McGregor returning on the cover. It maintained a fair rating, getting an aggregated score of 75/100 from Metacritic.
EA Sports UFC 4, the latest title in the franchise, was released back in August 2020, with stars Jorge Masvidal and Israel Adesanya on the cover. This title has arguably been the highest rated, with a 79/100 for the PS4, and an 84/100 for the XBox.
EA Sports UFC 4 has also been labeled as 'the best MMA video game ever made” and “EA’s strongest MMA game yet'.
