The purpose of Undisputed hiring content creators to their team, on the surface, seemed to be about engaging the boxing gaming community, promoting the game, and having so-called "hardcore fans" provide input to make the game better. However, based on how things have played out, it appears that their involvement was more about controlling the narrative, limiting criticism, and ensuring that these creators wouldn't speak out against issues with the game.
Many of these creators were vocal critics before they were hired or brought on as ambassadors, yet once they joined, their criticism either softened significantly or stopped altogether. This has led to speculation that they were either explicitly told not to criticize the game publicly or felt pressure to stay positive to maintain their role with the team.
It's a classic case of "community management" disguised as fan involvement. Rather than allowing these creators to have a genuine impact on gameplay mechanics, realism, or development priorities, they were seemingly used as marketing tools to generate hype and push the studio’s messaging. Meanwhile, their actual influence on improving the realism of the game (which many of them originally advocated for) appears to have been minimal.
This strategy isn't uncommon in gaming. Companies often hire or work closely with content creators to build goodwill with the community while simultaneously preventing them from being too outspoken about flaws. In Undisputed's case, it backfired with the hardcore boxing sim crowd, as the game moved further away from its ESBC-era promise of realism, and many of its former biggest supporters began questioning its direction.
What do you think? Do you feel this move hurt Undisputed’s credibility?
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