Is there going to be a UFC 5 game from EA Sports? Whilst it’s far from the most popular series within EA’s sports division, it is one of the most consistent. You might even argue that it’s had quite a lot of support, especially when compared to the likes of NBA Live, which has really struggled to win over fans.
So yes, we definitely think there is going to be a UFC 5 game at some stage in the future. But if you’re curious about what else we might know regarding the next entry in the series, then read on.
7 September Update - Checked for the latest UFC 5 news. All the most recent updates are found just below.
Latest News
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July 4, 2022 - E3 No-Show + Gamescom Soon
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UFC 5 was another no-show during E3 month, and whilst we still don’t know how much EA intends to participate with Gamescom we can always harbor some hope that the European conference comes good. Gamescom will once again host Geoff Keighley’s Opening Night Live event in 2022, which takes place during the event’s opening night (duh). This year’s showcase takes place on August 23 so let’s hope EA finally shows us something good if this game is to arrive later this year. |
June 9, 2022 - Summer Games Fest Livestream
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Summer Game Fest starts later today with a confirmed start time of 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm BST. You can watch via YouTube or Twitch by following the links listed. Or just watch the live stream embed down below. |
June 2, 2022 - Summer Game Fest Is Next Week
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Don’t forget that the third Summer Game Fest takes place on June 9, and promises to showcase “what’s next in gaming with huge new game announcements, world premieres, special guests, and much more”. It’s also worth noting that the show’s creator Geoff Keighley has let fans know that the show will be “primarily focused” on already announced games. But this isn’t to say it won’t have some new game announcements. Plus with EA confirmed to be part of Summer Game Fest, it sure would be a good time to announce UFC 5 and what EA Vancouver is working on. One can only hope. Either way, tune it, it’ll be fun! |
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Whilst EA Sports hasn’t officially announced that they’re making UFC 5, they more or less did confirm they’re making a 5th UFC game when they signed a contract extension with the UFC a few years back.
In November 2020 the two groups extended their multi-year partnership with a new 10-year deal. This meant EA Sports would hold exclusive rights to UFC video games until 2030.
“We’re thrilled to extend our more than 10-year partnership with the UFC as we continue to build one of the fastest-growing sports franchises in the world, based on the rapidly expanding sport of MMA,” then executive vice president Cam Weber said at the time.“This agreement will allow us to push the creative boundaries of mixed martial arts video games and connect millions more around the world to the culture of the sport.”
UFC 5 Leaks
Another sign that the game is in development (in some capacity) is that two job listing’s have more or less tipped off that the game is underway. The first was reported by GameRant in September 2021, noting that EA Sports were advertising for a Game Design Director on Linkedin Job, with the role said to be working on “an upcoming UFC game”.
In addition, fans on the EASportsUFC Subreddit also spotted that in November 2021, EA Sports was also advertising for a Franchise Art Director to work on UFC.
UFC 5 Release Date
EA Vancouver (formerly known as EA Canada) has overseen the development of the EA Sports UFC series ever since 2014 and generally speaking they’ve released a new entry every two years. Admittedly there’s a bit of wiggle room, but it’s a two-year development cycle, as you see on the table below. With this in mind, it looks like UFC 5 will release in 2022. However, it’s difficult to know what impact the COVID-19 pandemic might have had on the development for the game, and it’s possible that the game could require more time to be completed.
UFC Game | Release Date |
EA Sports UFC | 17 June 2014 |
EA Sports UFC 2 | 15 March 2016 |
EA Sports UFC 3 | 2 February 2018 |
EA Sports UFC 4 | 14 August 2020 |
When will UFC 5 be announced?
We’re very confident that we’ll see UFC 5 in the near future, but for the time being it is admittedly impossible to give any sort of release date information with any certainty given that EA still hasn’t formally announced the game in any capacity.
Likewise, there’s no EA Play Live event in 2022, so we couldn’t even say with any certainty when it might be announced, unless EA chooses to piggyback on the likes of Summer Games Fest, or Gamescom later in the year. If we had to place a bet, we’d say we imagine that we’ll see an announcement later this year with a view to an early 2023 release.