Undisputed Creator Says Studio Should Have “Stuck To Its Guns” More Often

When Steel City Interactive first set out to create Undisputed, the goal was simple. The studio wanted to build an authentic boxing game made by boxing fans, for boxing fans.

And after years of development, millions of players, and countless updates, studio founder Ash Habib says one of the biggest lessons learned was that trying to make everyone happy is nearly impossible.

Speaking with Insider Gaming on the latest episode of the Developer Spotlight, Habib reflected on the development journey and admitted there were decisions he would handle differently if given another opportunity.

“I think I probably should have stuck to my guns a little bit more,” Habib said.

According to Habib, Undisputed launched to largely positive feedback, but a vocal segment of the community pushed for gameplay changes that ultimately put the studio in a difficult position.

“The challenge, having kind of not done this before, it was a very loud vocal minority in terms of, ‘We want these changes. We want to change some things.’,” he said.

Habib said Steel City responded to many of those requests, only to discover that changes designed to satisfy one group of players often upset another.

“I think we probably kind of listened and changed the game to suit one play style,” he said. “And then we found there were other people that were unhappy.”

The challenge of balancing player expectations became particularly clear after the game’s console launch. Habib pointed to a situation involving Deontay Wilder, whose powerful overhand punches created a gameplay issue that allowed players to exploit the boxer online.

“We fixed that,” Habib said. “And I got personal death threats from people who were not happy that we’d ruined the game.”

At the same time, Habib said other players were demanding that the issue be addressed, illustrating the impossible balancing act developers often face.

“So that kind of gives you a good insight into how do you balance a game,” he said.

The experience ultimately led Habib to a realization that many veteran developers already understand.

“One thing I have learned is that I will not please everybody,” he said, adding that he spoke to friends at studios like 2K for advice.

Looking ahead to the future of the franchise, Habib believes Steel City has a clearer understanding of what Undisputed should be and intends to stay closer to that vision.

He says that they have the identity they are going for and look to franchises like Dark Souls, which Habib is a massive fan of, for inspiration.

“You can imagine the playing tests for Dark Souls, where a million people would have said this game is too hard,” he said. “The FromSoftware guys probably said, ‘Well, tough luck. This is the game we’re making.’ And I think to some extent, we probably should have taken a leaf out of that.”

These comments come from the one-on-one sit-down interview with Ash Habib for the Insider Gaming Developer Spotlight. The interview was available first for Premium Plus subscribers in the Insider Gaming App. Download the app for free today on Google Play or the App Store.