It seems EA's big revival of its classic sports franchises isn't done yet, as the company is teasing the return of a boxing series we haven't seen since the Xbox 360 and PS3 era. Yes, folks, it looks like Fight Night is finally making a comeback.
"To everyone who stayed in our corner: Fight Night is coming back," EA says from a newly created Twitter account for the series. Attached is an image of a pair of boxing gloves dangling over an empty canvas, with the caption "the fight is never over." No other details on the game have been provided just yet.
This will be EA's third major revival of a dormant sports series in recent years, following comebacks for College Football and Skate. College Football 25 was received with broad acclaim and monstrous sales, though after three games the mood of the community is starting to shift, especially with a controversial microtransaction rollout as part of College Football 27. Skate, meanwhile, has had a more mixed response across the board, though the game remains in early access.
The Fight Night series was an institution in its day, and Fight Night Round 4 in particular was among the best-reviewed games on PS3 and Xbox 360. Robust fighting mechanics, extensive career modes, and astounding graphics for the time helped the series gain a foothold well beyond traditional sports fans, and there's a vocal minority of gamers who have been begging for a revival since the launch of Fight Night Champion in 2011.
So why revive the series now? I can only speculate, but it's worth noting that a big chunk of EA is now owned by Saudi Arabia. The country also regularly promotes boxing matches as part of its annual Riyadh Season events, so it's easy to see a crossover there. With Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund regularly accused of using sports and entertainment to "whitewash the country's abysmal human rights record" by watchdog groups, it's easy to find reasons to be cynical about this revival.
A month after buying EA, Saudi Arabia is reportedly looking to merge EA into a new mega-corporation.
