The boxing game that only exists because most big publishers won't touch the sport has now sold over a million copies

pcgamer.com:

Undisputed is a game that exists because, for far too long a time, there simply wasn't another big boxing game around. Ash Habib, a boxing fan from Sheffield in the UK, found himself wondering why games like the Fight Night series had disappeared (the last was in 2010), with big publishers having seemingly decided there was no future in the genre.

Such thoughts eventually led Habib and his brothers Asif and Asad to found Steel City Interactive in 2020, which has since enjoyed significant venture investment and four years on boasts around 70 employees. Undisputed launched in early access in 2023, and PCG's own slugger Tyler Wilde calls the game "an aggressively complex boxing sim", with a focus on authenticity and a large licensed cast of real world fighters (both contemporary and historical).

Undisputed left early access and launched on Steam October 8. Steel City Interactive has now announced that the game has sold over a million copies. Game Developer reports this was achieved in one week, though I'm curious as to how many of those may be early access purchases: I've asked the studio to clarify, and will update with any response.

Nevertheless, a million copies for an indie boxing game is great going and, above all else, shows the interest that remains in the sport.

«We are absolutely blown away by the reception to Undisputed,” said Habib. „Our ambition remains to create the new benchmark for combat sports games. Surpassing this milestone shows us that we are well on the way to achieving that.“

But it's not all good news. There's a whole lot of player disquiet about the condition Undisputed has launched in, particularly focused on the online elements, and this has only been exacerbated by the studio announcing an update to address these issues would arrive… in December.

After so long in early access, and considering how key the online experience is to a competitive fighting game, the punters are not impressed. The game's Steam reviews stand at Mixed, and highlight