In EA Sports UFC 4 players can develop and customize characters through a unified progression system across all modes to go from unknown amateur to UFC superstar in the new Career Mode. New to UFC 4, players can also experience four all-new environments, including The Kumite, The Backyard, UFC Apex and Action Avenue, or challenge the world in new Blitz Battles or Online World Championships to become the undisputed champ. Performance details like weight class and one of five MMA disciplines, including Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing and more, define how players fight, while over 1,600 new pieces of earnable gear, over 120 emotes and more allow players to put their personality on display while doing it. 

In gameplay, fluid clinch-to-strike combinations offer more responsive and authentic stand-up gameplay experiences, while overhauled takedown and ground mechanics deliver more control in those key phases of the fight. No matter how or where players play, EA Sports UFC 4 puts them at the center of every fight. Fluid clinch control brings RPM into the art of the ‘clinch’, adding a key element of strategy to the striking system. RPM Tech drives a takedown overhaul, with a slew of new takedown animations, driven by player control and fighter attributes. A new submission system was built to offer a simplified player experience, with more ways to transition into submission attempts, accelerate a finish, or deploy high-impact slams to escape them. 

Additionally, an overhaul to Career Mode introduces a brand-new way to develop fighter backstories and offers an in-depth evolution process for the duration of the fighter’s career. The new fighter evolution feature lets players dictate a fighter’s skillset, as every punch thrown, or every takedown executed builds fighters up in that specific discipline. Relationship Building brings the impact of partnerships and rivalries into UFC 4, learning from both friend and foe to gain experience and learn vital skills. Players can pick their path, which allows them to choose the fights, weight class and rivalries they want, ensuring no two careers are alike. 

Blitz Battles is a new fast-paced mode where players will compete against other players online in a rapid-fire tournament. These tournaments will change regularly with new rulesets that are designed to keep the experience and competition fresh. In addition to that, we’ve also added the option for combined weight classes in fight now, so you can take flyweights in against heavyweights if that’s your thing.

EA Sports UFC 4 features UFC middleweight champion Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya and UFC welterweight contender Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal as the game’s official cover athlete duo. The next game in the popular UFC franchise brings a new experience that puts the player and their created fighter at the center of the action. Featuring an all-new unified progression system, overhauled takedown and ground mechanics, more fluid clinch-to-strike combinations and the chance to experience the origins of combat sports in all-new environments, UFC 4 delivers the most polished mixed martial arts experience to date.

It may be surprising for some of you to learn that Ultimate Team is no longer a feature included in our UFC game. It probably isn’t surprising to hear me say that this was not a decision we took lightly. When we introduced our vision for Ultimate Team in UFC 2 and invested in significant updates in UFC 3, our objective was to create deeply engaging experiences for our players, in the same way, EA SPORTS FIFA, Madden NFL, and EA SPORTS NHL Ultimate Team modes have for theirs. However, there are a number of factors that make team sports different from mixed martial arts. We based the final decision on two factors we felt were the most important:

1. One of the most obvious ones is right there in the word, “team”. MMA is not a “team” sport (I know fighters have teams of coaches and trainers that play a huge role, but only two people step inside the octagon). So Ultimate Team, as a concept, has struggled to fit and resonate in the context of MMA. We spent lots of time and resources in UFC 2 and UFC 3 to make it fun and engaging, but the feedback we received directly and through player data was that it still isn’t as engaging as we intended for it to be.
2. Speaking of player data; we see, overwhelmingly, less interest in UFC Ultimate Team compared to other titles. Lots of people played it and some still do – but the large majority of our fans prefer to spend their time elsewhere. That fact is loud and clear through our game data and couldn’t be ignored.

Looking at the number of players engaging with UFC Ultimate Team compared to the amount of resources required to develop and support the mode, the math just didn’t make sense. Even to port it from UFC 3 to UFC 4 without any material changes or improvements required significant time and effort, let alone revamping the mode to make it more fun and engaging. 

So we made the decision to refocus those resources toward new features and updates we hope all our players will enjoy. In particular, the new Connected fighter profile, challenges, progression, vanity rewards and improvements to created fighter features represent the result of our efforts to create something new and unique to EA SPORTS UFC for all of our players.

If you were, or are, an avid UFC Ultimate Team player we understand that this isn’t good news, and if you’re disappointed, I apologize. Even though it’s a smaller group of fans, we know that those fans enjoy the mode and it is not easy to take that away.

But there’s also lots to be excited about. There are tons of new features and exciting innovations in UFC 4 and I’m excited about being able to share more information with you in the coming weeks. The team will also be monitoring your feedback and questions as we get closer to launch.

Last but not least, I’ve included answers below to some of the most frequent questions we’ve received from you all. Hopefully, this helps everyone understand what’s coming.

Stay tuned for more about the game. I can’t wait for you all to play it. And, as always, thank you for being part of our community!

Sincerely,

Brian Hayes
Creative Director
EA SPORTS UFC

Players who pre-order the game now will get boxers Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, along with a Backyard Customization Pack and Kumite Customization Pack containing cosmetic items. Additional benefits± are available for players who purchase UFC 4 through an in-game tile in UFC 3 or UFC 2, including10% off UFC 4, martial arts legend Bruce Lee and 500 UFC points. 

EA Access members can get a head start by jumping into the UFC 4 early access trial starting August 7. During this time, members will also have the opportunity to participate in pre-launch, UFC 4 challenges that unlock in-game currency.

EA Sports UFC 4 will be available worldwide on Friday, August 14 on PS4 and Xbox One.