The EA Sports UFC series will return for a third edition on Feb. 2, 2018, with EA Sports UFC 3 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the publisher announced today. The game will offer a career mode that enhances an out-of-the-octagon experience to allow players to promote individual bouts, create heated rivalries and push their fighters into the spotlight of mixed martial arts.
EA Sports UFC 3 will deliver the “G.O.A.T. Career Mode,” where player choices can build hype and followership for their fighters and land them lucrative fight contracts. A news release from EA Sports said players can use a “new in-game social media system” to stew rivalries with other fighters and flesh out the persona of their created star.
EA is also touting two multiplayer modes “designed for fast, fun fights.” They are “Stand & Bang,” and a “Submission Showdown” to go along with the Knockout Mode introduced in 2016’s EA Sports UFC 2. For more on Knockout Mode and the last game, see Polygon’s review. EA Sports UFC 3 will also offer a tournament mode where the combatants must fight through multiple rounds to victory, with fatigue and injury accruing through each bout.
Brian Hayes, the game’s creative director, promised “a complete overhaul to gameplay” in EA Sports UFC 3 thanks to new animation technology. “Every move is more strategic and looks more authentic and beautiful,” he said.
Conor McGregor, a champion at two weight classes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, returns as a cover star for the game. He had been on the box shot for EA Sports UFC 2 in 2016. You can see 15 screenshots of EA Sports UFC 3 below.
Update: We’ve added the EA Sports UFC 3 gameplay trailer to this article. You can watch it above.