Undisputed looks to make boxing games a main event

While sports games reign supreme among the annual best-sellers, boxing titles haven’t been in vogue for many years. That was the key inspiration behind Steel City Interactive’s Undisputed, a new boxing game that’s hoping to give the genre a strong punch. We got to play Undisputed early and get a better idea of how Steel City Interactive is accomplishing that goal.

Roll with the punches

As a boxing simulator, Undisputed challenges players to learn and eventually master the many facets of professional boxing. There are various punches, dodges, and forms of movement that are suited for just about every scenario in the ring. As players learn how to properly string together combos, dodge on time, and conserve their energy, they’ll see themselves becoming a formidable fighter.

A key focus for Steel City Interactive was making sure that fights also felt like a chess match. Most boxers will tell you that fights are as much of a mental and emotional competition as they are a physical one. It’s easy to spam jabs, or flail around frantically when you know your opponent is trying to land a strike, but this is far from a winning strategy in Undisputed. The developers want to encourage players to cleverly move around the ring, luring their opponent into traps, and unleashing hell on them when the time is right.

Lucky strikes

A big part of building a successful sports simulator is making it feel “real,” and that includes getting actual fighters and organizations into the game. Undisputed will include more than 50 real-life boxers at launch, and Steel City Interactive has promised that more will come in the future. Muhammad Ali, Canelo Álvarez, and Tyson Fury are among the notable names on the roster. Undisputed will also include the Women’s Division, the WBC, and the British Boxing Board of Control.

To further the immersion, the developer has also emphasized the quality of its player face scans, which have been a decent portion of its marketing. As matches go on, there will be bruises, sweat, and even blood in some cases. There are multiple unique rings for players to fight in, including Coldwell’s Gym, a massive arena, and other indoor and outdoor venues.

Get back in the ring

With no major studio having a monopoly on the boxing game genre in the same way that they do for other sports, it will be interesting to see how Undisputed performs when it throws its hat into the ring. There is a clear attention to detail and dedication to the craft, so we’re looking forward to seeing what Steel City Interactive has up its sleeve for Undisputed’s full launch.

These impressions are based on a digital Steam card provided by the publisher. Undisputed launches in Early Access on Steam on January 31, 2023.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_