Fight Night Champion was a monumental achievement for EA, but they failed to capitalize on that and release a sequel. It’s been over a decade since the blood-splattered, cinematic brilliance of the game first graced our consoles. The original still stands in our list of best boxing games. Fans were certain that the sequel would be the continuation of a legendary franchise run, but it’s been radio silence for nearly 15 years.
While Undisputed is a great game that scratches the boxing itch, it lacks the polish that FNC had. There’s still room for another great boxing game, but is it ever going to happen? The simple truth is that Fight Night Champion 2 has become the ultimate phantom title, the Half-Life 3 of the sports world.
A History Of Fight Night Champion 2 Rumors
Like any big game series that’s been abandoned, Fight Night has been surrounded by rumors. This just shows how interested people are in a sequel. There’s no official statement on whether the franchise has been shelved or paused, but fans have been expecting a comeback for years now. That’s just hopes and dreams for now, though, as no one other than EA knows what’s going on.
As per videos online and threads from Reddit, EA might still be working on the game in some capacity. This restart is attributed to increasing the fan engagement and content creation around boxing video games. With no release date announced yet, the game might come after UFC 6, if development has restarted. This isn’t something to get your hopes up for too much, though, as there were rumors dating back to 2021 that it’s coming after UFC 5.
Speaking of which, UFC has proven to be a safer bet for EA. They pay a decent amount just to use the UFC name, and that simply works in their favor in the form of more revenue from an exclusive franchise. Some even go as far as to speculate that part of EA’s contract with UFC restricts them from making another combat or MMA game. This is likely not true, but it’s an example of what happens when the rumor mill runs wild for more than a decade.
Will It Ever Happen?
New rumors suggest that Fight Night Champion 2 is allegedly in development and heading to a 2027 release, according to Dexerto. From what everyone knows about EA, they’ll only release this game if they see it generating incredible revenue returns. After the $55M private buyout, this statement has some extra weight to it.
With that said, they might be motivated to actually make this game after seeing the success of Undisputed. Steel City Interactive’s game showed that there is still a real appetite for traditional boxing games, and there is money to be made if done well. The game sold nearly 1.5 million copies, which is not bad considering it comes from a relatively small indie studio. Imagine the numbers EA would be able to pull with a great boxing game that has the Fight Night label.
But EA could miss the opportunity easily, because they already have better-performing franchises that are their main focus, like EA FC and Battlefield. These franchises generate massive revenue, and developing Fight Night Champion 2 might shift attention away from them. After all, this isn’t the first franchise EA has abandoned (RIP SimCity).
Again, nobody outside EA truly knows. The game has reached Half-Life 3 levels of speculation, where every trademark renewal, vague leak, or job listing turns into “confirmed news.” It’s in the same realm as Valve’s game now: it becomes more iconic every year we don’t get it. The real question isn’t if they’ll ever make it, it’s whether EA will ever care enough to try.
