There’s no such thing as a burned bridge when it comes to good business.
The UFC announced Monday that parent company Zuffa, LLC, had reached a licensing agreement with Electronic Arts to produce and distribute video games bearing its brand. The new multi-year, multi-product partnership will provide EA the exclusive rights to develop UFC video games, which will be developed and marketed under the EA Sports brand.
The deal ends the UFC’s relationship with THQ, which previously held the exclusive rights to UFC video games and whose third edition of its UFC Undisputed title was released in February.
“We’d like to thank THQ for creating some of the most critically acclaimed sports video games of this console generation, and we’re excited to enter a new relationship with EA that will help us deepen our connection with fighting fans around the world,” UFC president Dana White said in a release. “There’s no one better at creating authentic sports video games than EA Sports, and we’re excited to have a partner who shares our vision of deep, connected and multi-platform global game experiences.”
White had been vocal in the past about the fact that the UFC was turned down by EA when it tried to land a deal with the video game maker. He said EA wasn’t interested in mixed martial arts — prior the boom in popularity that the sport saw beginning in 2007 — which is the reason the UFC signed a deal with THQ.
He was even more critical of the company when it then announced its own MMA game in 2008, EA Sports MMA, which was released in October 2010 and featured fighters primarily on the then-rival Strikeforce roster. The EA game was evidently developed in response to the success of UFC Undisputed, which debuted in May 2009.
However, White was more than excited about the new EA deal.
UFC had done a deal with EA sports for the UFC video game!!!!!!! :)
— Dana White (@danawhite) June 4, 2012
“We’re thrilled to begin a long-term partnership that will bring fans incredibly authentic, and deeply connected, UFC video games,” said Andrew Wilson, EVP and Head of EA Sports. “UFC has become a global powerhouse because they have the world’s best fighters, competing in the world’s best mixed martial arts events. We share UFC’s passion for the sport, and we look forward to capturing all of the intensity and excitement of the action with unique new game experiences across a range of platforms.”
The first two editions of THQ’s UFC Undisputed were well accepted, but UFC Undisputed 3, released two years after the previous version, has been plagued with problems.
So has THQ as a company. It has reportedly been struggling with its direction, and its stock price dropped below US$1 in January, making the move to the more well-established EA brand a welcome one for the UFC, and a reasonable one from THQ’s perspective.
“We’ve relished our relationship with UFC over the last several years and believe that the UFC gaming brand is in great shape. THQ’s more focused strategy moving forward meant that transferring the licence to EA made sense to all parties,” said THQ CEO Brian Farrell. “We’d like to thank the UFC for their great support and partnership and wish EA all the best moving forward.”
