Electronic Arts announced EA Sports UFC 4 on Saturday as the fourth installment in the EA Sports UFC franchise. The big reveal was accompanied by a trailer and a release date that has the game coming out on August 14th which means it’s just over a month away now. It’s currently up for pre-order and has been confirmed so far for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 platforms, and as expected, it’s got a couple of pre-order bonuses including unique fighters. New features in the latest installment include more venues for players to fight in, a number of improvements to different gameplay elements, and a new Blitz Battles mode that pits player against each other in evolving online tournaments.
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Featured on the cover are the athletes Jorge Masvidal and Israel Adesanya. This marks the first time Conor McGregor hasn’t been featured as a cover fighter since 2014.
The busy artwork from the reveal event can be seen below featuring both of the fighters. Expect to see this image on the cover of your copy of UFC 4 if you end up buying the physical release.
On Fight Island and on the cover 💪 Jorge Masvidal and Israel Adesanya are your #UFC4 Cover Athletes 🔥🔥🔥@GamebredFighter @stylebender pic.twitter.com/YHg81EMUax
— EA SPORTS UFC (@EASPORTSUFC) July 11, 2020
“EA SPORTS UFC 4 is the best fighting game ever made,” UFC President Dana White said. “Fans can play in the top arenas, as well as in Backyard and Kumite environments. This game allows you to play with the top athletes in UFC history, plus legends like Bruce Lee and boxing champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. It’s crazy how good this game is.”
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury mentioned above are pre-order bonuses for the game, so you’ll have to reserve your copy ahead of time if you want them. Some of the changes we’ll see from past UFC releases include a more fluid clinch control systems and an overhaul of the takedown and ground and pound features.
UFC’s history with video games stretches all the way back to 2000 with Ultimate Fighting Championship, developed by Anchor Inc. and Opus for the Sega Dreamcast and Sony PlayStation. The previous console generation saw THQ and developer Yuke’s produce four games — UFC 2009 Undisputed, UFC Undisputed 2010, UFC Personal Trainer and UFC Undisputed 3, all of which made their way to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Following THQ’s closing, EA and UFC announced a multi-year partnership in 2012, beginning with EA Sports UFC on PS4 and Xbox One 2014. Its two subsequent sequels were released in 2016 and 2018. All three previous installments were well-received by critics, earning Metacritic scores of 70, 79 and 75 respectively.
UFC 4 releases for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 14th.
