E3 09: EA enters the cage with EA Sports MMA @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on June 01, 2009

News: Mixed martial arts game from EA Tiburon coming in 2010.

With the recent release of THQ's UFC 2009 Undisputed, video games featuring mixed martial arts (MMA) are hot once again. So naturally, Electronic Arts has decided to flex their considerable sports game muscle with the announcement of EA Sports MMA. The game is in development at EA Tiburon (the team behind the Madden, NCAA Football and Tiger Woods franchises) and will be released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sometime in 2010.

The company promises the game will include "the most authentic, intense and broad mixed martial arts experience to date." As THQ holds the license rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion and its fighters, EA will have to look outside the UFC when developing EA Sports MMA. As EA says the game will feature a "vast array of top fighters and fighting styles from around the world", its likely they will explore a partnership with one of the other MMA organizations such as Dream or Affliction.

No other details were revealed, but it is also likely that EA Sports MMA is just a working title.

We'll have more soon.