IT’S a classic boxing story. The plucky underdog, refusing to play within his perceived limits, punches through a giant opponent (or, in this case, an industry barrier) to rise to the top of his craft. Set to be released on October 11, Undisputed finally fills the void in boxing gaming.
But there’s more to this underdog story than meets the eye. This boxing production is the brainchild and realization of a lifelong dream. Driven by boxing enthusiast and dedicated gamer Ash Habib, Steel City Interactive is a company that’s relentless in its quest to make sure every punch lands.
“Yes, it seems like the underdog story that led to Undisputed, a real upswing,” agrees CEO Habib, who founded the company in 2020 with his brothers Asif and Asad.
When the big launch day comes, while most weeks are hectic, Habib doesn’t complain. It’s better to fly to live shows, discuss plans in online and in-person meetings, or return to the studio to participate in motion capture than to watch tumbleweeds roll past their Sheffield office.
Growing up in a historic fighting city like Sheffield, steeped in a strong boxing heritage, the likes of Prince Naseem Hamed, Johnny Nelson and Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham had the skills in the ring and the vibrant personalities off the ropes to draw any youngster into the game of pain. Habib was quickly hooked.
“It was just a great period growing up watching those fights. My eldest brother, Asif, came from the 80s era of the Four Kings, telling me about Hagler, Hearns and those kinds of guys. And then my parents obviously went back to Muhammad Ali.
“I was always around boxing. And I think at that time when it was on terrestrial television, it was quite easy to get involved.”
The sepia-toned days of ITV, when Michael Watson, Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn battled wits on TV screens across the UK, now seem a long time ago.
Children threw arms across playgrounds on Monday morning after watching their idols compete in stadiums packed with tens of thousands of sports fans.
Like many of his generation, Ash Habib sat there, enthralled. While his boxing hobby lurked in the shadows, technology took over and video games emerged. With careers in engineering or medicine in mind, Ash and his brother convinced their father to invest in the Spectrum 48k.
While that console was crude in retrospect, their first computer had arrived and gaming life was in full swing. Add to that Barry McGuigan’s boxing, Frank Bruno’s equivalent of boxing, and the rise of Knockout Kings and Fight Night. Apps improved rapidly, but boxing games were no longer a thing. Undisputed came along to fill the void 13 years after the last major release.
“That was one of the key things I wanted us to do with Undisputed, to take a clear step forward from previous boxing games that have come out,” Habib explains, trying to create realism in the game.
“I was a big fan of Fight Night. I felt like they set the bar for boxing games. And I actually think that’s probably why a lot of the big studios didn’t want to get involved, so to speak, because I think they felt like EA had set the bar too high for boxing games.
“Maybe they don’t want to risk investing all that money and effort into something that people are just going to say, oh, it’s not as good as Fight Night or something like that.”
Fight Night or not, Steel City has nothing to lose. As a small studio, if the big boys aren’t coming back to the arena, why shouldn’t they? What they lack in budget and resources, they make up for in drive and innovation. Ironically, the lack of boundaries means the ideas can be huge. Lean heavily into the gameplay, learn from mistakes, every failure brings moments of insight.
Innovative thinking coupled with scanning technology has resulted in a growing roster of fighters and (currently) over 70 punches with directional combat. Eschewing button-mashing brawls, Undisputed instead turns to the complexity of the sweet science of winning.
“You can counter with your front foot, you can counter with your back foot, you can pivot to the left, you can pivot to the right, you can do hooks. It’s almost like a boxing fan’s wish list.
“Some things are just complete failures, which we’ve eliminated. That’s how I see Undisputed, different from the boxing games that have come before us,” Habib said.
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – MAY 18: Tyson Fury punches Oleksandr Usyk during the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and Undisputed Heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at Kingdom Arena on May 18, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Despite limited development time and space, Ash, an avid wrestling fan, wanted to include some names. While many previous wrestling games have featured mostly American fighters, the current trend of British fighters dominating certain weight classes (e.g. heavyweight) meant that a little more non-American talent was needed.
“Nigel Benn has never boxed. Carl Froch has never boxed. And even supporting some of the young British fighters that are coming up, like Dalton Smith. It’s great to be able to bring some of our fighters to gamers around the world. So this roster is something we’re really happy with.”
While the current crop of stars includes Fury, Canelo, Usyk, Wilder, Terence Crawford and many more, fans of old-school boxers need not worry. The extensive roster, from Jack Dempsey to Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, to Sugar Ray Leonard, means every golden era is represented.
None of these options would have been possible if Ash Habib’s efforts, coupled with Steel City Interactive’s desire to attract wider interest, initial investment, and the ability to make the dream a financial reality, had not been successful.
Before the big VCs took notice, the small team with no budget, no gaming experience but an underdog mentality, trained with the foundation of a plan, was able to take risks and overcome them. Momentum breeds momentum and soon the snowball rolled and grew.
“That thing [approach] It works with everything, not just investing. It works with fighters. When I don’t have any fighters in the game, I can’t just go to Muhammad Ali’s team and say, hey, we want Muhammad Ali.
“Having a plan B is never enough. You need to have a plan A, B, C, D, E, and F. Nine times out of ten, it’s plan F that will get you out of trouble.”
And with that meticulous alphabetical planning, Undisputed is just weeks away from hitting store shelves. The early access version is available now on PC. The PlayStation 5 and big Xbox Series S and X versions will launch on October 11.
For the many fans waiting to get their hands on a copy, improvements continue in the interim and the final version will be further refined and revised.
“We’re still improving the game. I think that’s something that I’ve been very clear about in terms of the early access feedback that we’ve gotten. A lot of it [early access] issues we addressed when the game launched on October 11.
“Even after October 11, we still have a roadmap of additional improvements we will make to the game,” Ash Habib said in closing. This underdog never stops striving for better.
“I guess there are some stories that you can relate to quite a bit in boxing, about a fighter going from nothing to world champion. So for us, I like to think we’re trying to do that in the gaming space.”
Undisputed will launch October 11 on PlayStation and Xbox.
