Thanks to an unexpected official source, the existence of UFC 4 from publisher Electronic Arts has been accidentally leaked. The EA Play 2020 event was fairly robust, at least in comparison to the company's earlier showings. Games like Star Wars Squadrons and It Takes Two showed the versatility and production values of the mega-publisher, but beloved franchises like Mass Effect, Dead Space, and Battlefield were completely absent from the show.
One game in particular that was absent from EA Play was EA Sports UFC 4, a title that had long been rumored for the event. The mixed martial arts franchise effectively replaced the lagging Fight Night boxing series, the last entry of which, Fight Night Champion, failed to leave a lasting impact on sports fans of video game enthusiasts, despite the inclusion of a unique story-based mode. As a result, Fight Night is dead and EA Sports UFC has taken its place as the publisher's prominent fighting game, with a new entry released every other year since 2014.
With EA Sports UFC absent from EA Play this year, many fans were beginning to wonder if the series might be put on hiatus. However, it seems EA simply chose to hold the announcement for slightly a more suitable event. Based on an Instagram post from UFC Russia, that event is UFC 251, to be held in Abu Dhabi. As reported by Game Rant, the post seems like a regular advertisement, with two muscle-bound guys mugging at the camera, but the bottom left corner of the image contains the phrase, "EA Sports UFC 4 Official Reveal," as well as an slick logo for the as-yet unannounced fighting game.
It seems unlikely EA would want to unveil their big sports game through a low-key Russian-language Instagram post for a fighting event, instead of at the event itself. It's possible they were supposed to announce the game at EA Play 2020 but withhold most details for UFC 251. However, in an event already occluded by smoke and mirrors, perhaps EA decided against yet another non-announcement along the lines of their anemic Need for Speed and Dragon Age teases.
In any case, EA Sports UFC 4 is coming, and details will be revealed at UFC 251 on July 11, 2020. Based on this timing, there's still a strong chance the title will release before the end of 2020, but previous titles in the series would release in the first half of the year, making a 2021 release a distinct possibility. Either way, there's a strong chance UFC 4 will be a cross-gen game, with versions available on both the current-gen systems and the next-gen consoles that are expected to launch before the end of 2020.
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June 21, 2020 at 07:19AM
