EA Sports announces acquisition of UFC video game license

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

In huge news for MMA and video game fans, Electronic Arts announced on Monday at E3 that EA Sports has acquired the rights to the UFC franchise from THQ, and will be making UFC video games moving forward.

EA's first foray into the sport, EA MMA, was a critical success, but was hampered by a lesser roster than THQ's UFC Undisputed franchise. Conversely, the Undisputed series drew criticism for its complexity and presentation, though the most recent iteration had been an improvement over the first two.

More details will be announced in coming weeks on the new series, but EA's fighting engine, which was heavily praised in the first game, is expected to be utilized with the UFC license moving forward.

Penick's Analysis: This is fantastic news. The last THQ game for the UFC was a very big improvement over the last two, but the EA Sports name is more prestigious in the gaming world at this point, and this could lead to another huge boon for the UFC In the gaming world. This is going to have a lot of lofty expectations, but it certainly could live up to all of them. I can't wait to see what they put together.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_13517.shtml

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