Undisputed hopes to bring boxing games back to prominence

Mixed martial arts and professional wrestling have thrived in video games over the last few years, but there has been a drought of boxing titles. EA once had its Fight Night franchise to represent the sweet science, but that series hasn't had a new installment since the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 generation. Where can the boxing fans turn to for a fun sim title that brings out the best elements of their sport? Steel City Interactive hopes the answer will be Undisputed, a game that has been on Steam Early Access for over a year. Ahead of its scheduled 1.0 release this October, Shacknews gave it a look while wandering this year's PAX West 2024 show floor.

Undisputed is a game that's going the extra mile to emulate the best boxing titles of yesteryear. It works with some of the biggest brands in the sport to help craft an authentic experience and also features some of the most recognizable fighters in the world today. Think of organizations like the World Boxing Council and CompuBox, which all contribute their brand name and personnel knowledge to help put together something true to the sport of boxing.

Controls feel crisp and intuitive. Face and shoulder buttons are all tied to different types of punches and button combinations can be used for an even greater variety of hits. Like in boxing, players must mix together fancy footwork with strikes whenever openings present themselves. They also have to be smart about fighting. Put too much energy out there at the start and your fighter is likely to run out of gas in later rounds. Even worse, those who fight carelessly can find themselves getting hit hard and getting swollen around either of their eyes. This can not only impair a fighter, but it essentially gives the opponent a bullseye to aim for. There's a little more leeway given when using seasoned fighters like Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, Tyson Fury, and "Showtime" Shawn Porter, thanks to amplified stamina and courage stats.

Still, fighting recklessly is not recommended. Those who do find themselves kissing the mat can use a simple interface that utilizes the shoulder triggers to try and get back to their feet. Meter speeds are determined by fighter stats, but they will also move faster the more a fighter is knocked down.

While Undisputed has been gradually adding updates since launching on Steam Early Access, the team at Steel City Interactive is aiming for the biggest one to date for the 1.0 launch. The game is expected to include over 70 licensed boxers from both today and from the past as well as options to create a custom pugilist from scratch. It's also looking to mimic the pageantry of big-time boxing events by including over 14 real-world venues, commentary from the team of Todd Grisham and Johnny Nelson, and ring introductions from the legendary Jimmy Lennon Jr.

The development team is also looking to refine Career Mode, which was included in a February update. In this mode, players can craft their own male or female boxer and place them in whatever weight class they want. The idea then becomes to build a successful boxer by training, taking on fights with opponents that have their same skill level, and assembling a team. In fact, managers, cutmen, and coaches will all have their own stats and will help determine the boxer that ultimately comes to be. With all of this said, we weren't able to try out Career Mode on the show floor and will have our eye on its development.

Undisputed has been a work in progress for some time. I only got a small vertical slice of gameplay on the show floor and am hopeful that the studio can follow through on the promise displayed. I didn't get enough time to put the myriad of punch combinations to work, nor was there enough time to properly judge the game's footwork. I was able to close my distance when my opponent was reeling, but I didn't make full use of any side step mechanics. With that said, I was taken in by Undisputed's visual presentation and its attempt to make something that resembles a real-world sport. Whether Steel City Interactive can stick the landing remains to be seen.

Undisputed will exit Steam Early Access on Friday, October 11. On that date, it will also release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

This preview is based on a demo playable on the PAX West 2024 show floor. The final product is subject to change.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?