First EA Sports UFC Gameplay Shown at GamesCom - Video Included

The fastest growing sport in the world finally got it's next-gen gameplay reveal at Gamescom this morning.

EA Sports UFC Creative Director Brian Hayes came up on stage to talk about the game, it's progress and then to show off some pre-alpha gameplay footage.

"I'm here representing a tremendously talented team at EA Canada hard at work on UFC," Hayes said.

Hayes talked about the Ignite Engine and the teams goal to make each fighter, "More intelligent, more aware, and more alive."

"They (the fighters) will act like living, breathing human beings. They won't just be action figures up on the stage."

In what Hayes and EA are calling 'feel the fight', next-gen Ignite Engine technology promises to bring real facial animation and emotions as well as movement physics which have never before been seen in sports games.

The game featured Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson, who will be headlining UFC 161 next month.


The gameplay footage showed fighters moving around the ring with no floating or sliding but with real weight and momentum. At one point, in the demo Gustafsson had Jones in a guillotine choke and you could see the full body deformation and Gustafsson actually struggling to hold Jones in the choke (screen above showing his veins popping out of his neck).

The struggle and movement of the fighters certainly looked more lifelike and ahead of what we're used to. But the jury is still out on the product, and we'll have to see how the game shapes up in the coming months.

EA Sports UFC is expected to release next Spring. According to Brian Hayes, 9 months away.

What did you think of the gameplay shown at Gamescom?