MMA and video game fans eagerly awaiting EA Games version of the UFC video game will have to keep waiting a while longer. EA acquired the rights to produce the UFC game last June after THQ, makers of UFC Undisputed, went under.
Joystiq confirmed that the UFC game will not be among the 14 new releases EA has planned for the remainder of this fiscal year.
THQ released UFC Undisputed in 2009 and it was one of the big hits of that year, selling over 1 million units. The sequel UFC Undisputed 2010 was a massive flop however and helped drive THQ into bankruptcy. UFC Undisputed 3 came out in 2012 but was too little, too late to save the company.
EA released its competing game, EA Sports MMA, featuring Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture and many fighters on the Strikeforce roster in 2010. Without the UFC brand and roster it was dead on arrival in the marketplace.
The UFC infamously requires its fighters to sign away their video game likeness rights in perpetuity for no guaranteed compensation.