EA Sports announces Fight Night boxing video game is coming back, 15 years after the last release

EA Sports has announced that its Fight Night boxing video game series is coming back. The publisher made the announcement on Tuesday, October 20, in a post on X from a new EA Sports Fight Night account, which the main EA Sports account then reposted. The last game in the series, Fight Night Champion, came out in 2011.

"To everyone who stayed in our corner: Fight Night is coming back," the post read. Bleacher Report reported that the announcement came with the tagline "The fight is never over." Within about an hour, the post had more than 23,000 likes and around 670,000 views.

What we know and what we don't

The announcement was very short. EA Sports did not give a release date, platforms, a developer, a roster or any gameplay details. Insider Gaming said there were no other details beyond the fact that the series is returning, and that no timeline was given for when fans will see or play it.

Insider Gaming also noted that EA has announced returning franchises this way before. EA College Football came back after a similar teaser. A planned college basketball game, however, never came out because EA could not get exclusive agreements with schools.

A long road back

Talk of a new Fight Night has gone on for years. In 2021 and 2022, media reports said a reboot had been approved and was in early development, but that the work was paused so EA could focus on its UFC series. EA still makes the EA Sports UFC games, and much of the same technology was expected to be used for any new boxing game.

In September of this year, Insider Gaming reported, citing sources, that the original plans for a Fight Night return had been cancelled about a year earlier, after work had already been paused. The same report said a complete restart was still possible under EA's new owners, a group led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, whose purchase of the company closed in August. According to Insider Gaming, Saudi Arabia's large investment in boxing, including ownership of The Ring, was expected to lead to new talks about the game, and any new project would be "brand new" rather than a continuation of the old one.

Boxing world reacts

The news got a big reaction from fans and from people in the sport. ESPN boxing insider Mike Coppinger wrote on X: "Best news in a long, long time! We are so back! Thank you, EA Sports!"

Some fans were more careful, pointing to EA's use of in-game purchases in its other sports titles. Fight Night will also have competition. In recent years, the main licensed boxing game has been Undisputed from Steel City Interactive.

EA Sports has not said when it will share more details about the new Fight Night.