Undisputed underdog packs a pound-for-pound punch

IT’S a classic boxing story. The plucky underdog, refusing to participate within its perceived limits, punching up at a goliath opponent (or, in this case, industry barriers) to rise to the top of their trade. Due to hit the shops on October 11, Undisputed will finally fill the boxing gaming void.

But there’s far more to this underdog tale than that. This punching production is the brainchild and realisation of a lifelong dream. Driven by boxing enthusiast and committed gamer Ash Habib, Steel City Interactive is a company swinging relentlessly to ensure every blow lands.

“Yeah, it feels like a bit of an underdog story leading to Undisputed, that sort of ascent, really,” agrees CEO Habib, who founded the company in 2020 along with his brothers Asif and Asad.

As the big launch day arrives, while most weeks are hectic, Habib isn’t complaining. Better to be jetting out to live shows, discussing plans in online and in-person meetings, or back in the studio engaging in motion capture than watching tumbleweed float by their Sheffield offices.

Growing up in a historic fight city like Sheffield, imbued with a strong boxing heritage, the likes of Prince Naseem Hamed, Johnny Nelson and Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham had the in-ring skills and vibrant personalities outside of the ropes to lure any youngster towards the hurt game. Habib was quickly hooked.

“It’s just been a great period growing up watching those. My oldest brother, Asif, was from the 80s era of the Four Kings, telling me about Hagler, Hearns, and fighters like that. And then my parents obviously go back to Muhammad Ali. 

“I’ve always been around boxing. And I suppose back in those days when it was on terrestrial TV, it was kind of easy to get into.”

Those almost-sepia-tinted ITV days, where Michael Watson, Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn went to war on television screens across the UK, now seem a lifetime ago. 

Kids throwing hands across the playground on Monday morning after watching their domestic heroes competing in stadiums packed with tens of thousands of sporting enthusiasts. 

Like many of that generation, Ash Habib sat, enthralled. While the boxing interest simmered nicely in the background, technology took over and gaming came along. Dangling the career carrot of becoming an engineer or a doctor, Ash and his brother convinced their father to invest in a Spectrum 48k. 

As rudimentary as that console was in hindsight, their first computer had arrived and gaming life was in full swing. Throw in Barry McGuigan’s boxing, Frank Bruno’s punch-out equivalent and the evolution to Knockout Kings and Fight Night. The applications swiftly improved, but boxing games fell off the radar. Undisputed arrived to fill the gap 13 years after the last big release.

“That was one of the key things I wanted us to do with Undisputed, to have that clear leap of an improvement from the previous boxing games that have come out,” Habib explains, striving for in-game realism.

“I’m a huge Fight Night fan. I felt like they set the benchmark for boxing games. And I actually think that’s probably why a lot of big studios didn’t want to throw their hat in the ring, so to speak, because I think they felt EA set such a high bar for boxing games. 

“Maybe they didn’t want to risk putting all that investment and money into something where people just turn on and say, hey, it’s not as good as Fight Night or whatever.”

Fight Night or not, Steel City had nothing to lose. As a tiny studio, if the big boys weren’t stepping back into the arena, why couldn’t they? What they lacked in budget and resources, they made up for in drive and innovation. Ironically, a lack of boundaries meant the ideas could be huge. Leaning heavily into the gameplay side, learning by mistakes, every failure brought moments of clarity.

Innovative thinking alongside scanning technology led to a growing roster of fighters and (currently) over 70 punches with directional combat. Dispensing with button-bashing brawls, Undisputed instead turns to the intricacies of the sweet science to prevail.  

“You can fight off your front foot, you can fight back foot, you can pivot left, you can pivot right, you can do check hooks. It was almost like a boxing fan’s wish list. 

“Some of the things were just a flat-out failure, which we’ve discarded. That’s kind of how I see Undisputed, differentiating from boxing games that have come before us,” says Habib.

Despite limited development time and space, Ash, a dyed-in-the-wool fight fan, wanted some names included. While many previous fight games catalogue predominantly American boxers, the current trend of British boxers dominating particular weight classes (e.g., heavyweight) meant more than a simple sprinkling of non-US talent was required.

“Nigel Benn’s never been in a boxing game. Carl Froch’s never been in a boxing game. And even supporting some of the young up-and-coming British fighters, like Dalton Smith. It was nice to be able to bring some of our boxers in front of gamers worldwide. So the roster is something that we’re really happy with.”

While the current crop of stars includes Fury, Canelo, Usyk, Wilder, Terence Crawford, and more, fans of the old-time pugilists need not fret. A wide selection, ranging from Jack Dempsey to Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, right up to Sugar Ray Leonard, means the golden eras are all represented.

None of these options would’ve come into play if Ash Habib’s hustle, along with Steel City Interactive’s desire, had not been able to attract wider interest, initial investment, and the ability to make a dream a financial reality.

Before the big-time Venture Capital investors would take note, the small team with no budget, no gaming experience but bags of underdog spirit, forged with the foundations of a plan, were able to take risks and grit it out. Momentum breeds momentum and before long the snowball was rolling and growing.

“That [approach] worked for everything, not just investment. It worked for the fighters. When I’ve got no fighters in the game, I can’t just go to Muhammad Ali’s team and say, hey, we’d like Muhammad Ali. 

“Having a plan B is never enough. You need to have a plan A, B, C, D and E and F. Nine times out of ten, it’s plan F that kind of digs you out of the hole.”

And with that meticulous alphabet planning, the Undisputed game is just weeks away from appearing on the shelves. An early access version is already out on PC. The big PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S and X versions will drop on October 11th.

For the many fans waiting to get their hands on a copy, enhancements have continued in the interim, and the final version will be tweaked and modified even more.

“We’re still making improvements to the game. I think that’s one thing that I’ve been very clear about in terms of the early access feedback we’ve been getting. A lot of those [early access] problems we’ve resolved for when the game comes out on October 11th. 

“Even after October 11, we’ve still got a roadmap in terms of additional improvements we’ll be making to the game,” says Ash Habib in closing. This underdog never stops reaching for better.

“I guess there are some stories which you can relate quite heavily to in boxing, in terms of a fighter coming from nothing to becoming world champion. So, for us, I’d like to think we’re kind of trying to do that in the gaming space.”

Undisputed is available on October 11 on PlayStation and Xbox.