I’m a pretty huge fan of boxing, and also gaming. You can, therefore, perhaps relate to my frustration (which I know for a fact is shared by many others) that it’s now been over 10 years since we last saw an official title that married the two together. Yes, we’ve had UFC games, but UFC isn’t boxing. – A couple of years ago, however, eSport Boxing Club (ESBC) first pinged on my radar, and I have to admit that it’s perhaps been one of my most anticipated gaming releases since. – With it originally set to release in early access this Summer, however, we have something of both good and bad news. The bad news is, the game has been seemingly indefinitely delayed. However, the good news is that ESBC has managed to snag Tyson Fury into its growing roster of exceptionally notable boxing legends both past and present!
As part of the latest update to what essentially represents an indie-gaming project, ESBC’s lead developer has sadly confirmed that although it was originally scheduled for an early-access release this Summer, factors have changed that have ultimately resulted in the game now being effectively indefinitely delayed. Citing a brand new and apparently significant investment being made in the studio, they have said that they now want to take a little longer on the game so that they can ensure that when it does release, it’s going to be the boxing game fans have been craving for!
“Because of the massive expansion of the game, the roster and the expectations, we have to make sure we do justice to the names. We can’t rush something we know everybody is excited about, including us with our own high expectations.
I realise some of you will be disappointed by that. We also realise it’s been 10 years since the last licensed boxing game, which has been frustrating for those of us who love boxing. That’s the primary reason this studio was created. What we cannot do, and what we won’t do is rush for short-term success. That’s not the kind of studio we are. We want to do this right. This is why we’re not going to announce a launch window. The next announcement on this topic will be a specific release date.”
On a hugely plus side, however, adding to the likes of Muhammid Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Frazier, Joe Louis, and many others, ESBC has confirmed that Tyson Fury has now officially been licensed to appear as a playable character in the game!
Although there are no longer any official indications as to when ESBC will be released, it still looks likely that this will arrive at some point before the end of the year. – Coming as an initial PC exclusive, this will also likely please many reading this as, to date, the PC has perhaps been one of the worst platforms in terms of quality mainstream boxing titles. – Although, we should note that based on the huge apparent success and hype this project is having, a console release will almost certainly happen at some point in the future.
If you hadn’t heard of this game before, however, and even just have a mildly passing interest in boxing, I daresay that you now, like me, simply can’t wait to check this out because for a team of just 17 people, the work that is going into this title is clearly pretty amazing and while it might have been a long 10 years, ESBC seems to be making the wait well worthwhile!
If you do, therefore, want to learn more, you can check out the official websites below:
What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!
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