The Technology and Know-How Exist — So Where’s the Ref?!? (Unity Edition)

By Poe’s Think Tank — “Realism Sells” Series

“If a 1987 NES game could do it, there’s no excuse for a 2025 studio using Unity to leave the referee not present, only a cut scene.”

I. The Third Man Has Left the Ring

Every real boxing match requires three people in the ring — two boxers and one referee.
He’s the enforcer, the protector, the rhythm of the fight itself.

Yet in Undisputed, Steel City Interactive’s highly promoted “most authentic boxing simulation ever,” that third man is missing. No visible referee pacing the ring. No gestures. No commands. No presence.

And this isn’t a hardware limitation. SCI’s game runs on Unity, an engine capable of crowd AI, procedural animation, cinematic cameras, and advanced lighting.
If Unity can handle swarms of characters and full stadiums, it can handle one referee.

So the question isn’t “Can they?” — it’s “Why didn’t they?”

II. Forty Years of Proof

Boxing Titles That Got It Right

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (NES, 1987) — Mario acted as the visible referee, counting knockdowns and calling fights.
Knockout Kings 2000–2001 — Mills Lane appeared as a 3D, animated referee who enforced fouls.
Fight Night Champion (2011) — On decade-old consoles, referees separated fighters and oversaw knockdowns.
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing — Even arcade titles included a ref for context and immersion.

Wrestling Titles That Never Forgot the Third Man

From Pro Wrestling (NES, 1986) to WWE 2K25, referees have been visible and active.
They count pins, call rope breaks, and respond to chaos in real time.
Games like Fire Pro Wrestling and WWE 2K25 manage six or more wrestlers, managers, and full crowds simultaneously.
If the Nintendo 64 could render an animated referee, a 2025 PC and console boxing game absolutely can.

“The referee isn’t optional. He’s the sport’s conscience.”

III. Unity Can Handle It — Easily

A visible referee in Unity would rely on:

NavMesh Agents for movement between boxers.
Animator State Machines for counts, warnings, and break gestures.
Trigger Colliders for fouls and clinches.
Timeline + Cinemachine for smooth camera coordination.

These are standard Unity features — not specialized tech.
Even indie studios use them for crowd behavior, squad tactics, and companion AI.
So when a studio claims a referee might “break flow,” it’s not a technical reason; it’s a design shortcut.

IV. The “Flow” Excuse — Style Over Substance

Steel City Interactive’s invisible referee isn’t an accident; it’s a philosophy.

They optimized Undisputed for constant, uninterrupted action — a fighting-game tempo, not a sports-simulation rhythm.

But realism in boxing depends on rhythm.
The referee creates the cadence — breaking clinches, enforcing rules, and controlling tempo.
Without him, there’s no ebb and flow, no breathing room, no human pacing.

This design choice trades authenticity for speed.
It’s convenient. It’s marketable.
But it’s not boxing.

V. WWE 2K25: The Counterexample

Meanwhile, WWE 2K25 includes a fully visible referee who performs real-time officiating:

Calls disqualifications and rope breaks.
Reacts to chaos.
Gets knocked out or replaced dynamically.

All while six wrestlers, managers, weapons, and reactive crowds fill the same ring.
Unreal Engine 5 handles this effortlessly — and Unity can too.

The difference isn’t in the engine.
It’s in the priorities of the people using it.

SCI didn’t forget the referee — they removed him to streamline gameplay, revealing a deeper issue: Undisputed isn’t being built like a simulation. It’s being built like a fighting game wrapped in boxing gloves.

“The referee didn’t disappear — he was deleted by design.”

VI. Missing Roles, Missing Realism

A believable referee system requires specific skill sets:

Sports AI Engineers for positional logic and rule-based behaviors.
Gameplay Animators for contextual gestures.
Technical Designers for timing, fouls, and stoppage integration.

These aren’t flashy jobs — they’re realism’s backbone.
And judging by SCI’s hiring patterns, their focus leans toward visual fidelity and marketing, not deep sports simulation engineering.
That’s why the ring feels empty.

VII. What Fans See (and Don’t Feel)

Hardcore boxing fans notice instantly:

Fouls feel robotic without a referee’s authority.
Clinches feel mechanical — boxers separate automatically.
Knockdowns lack tension — no human validation or 10-count presence.
Immersion collapses — the ring feels like a test environment, not a fight.

The referee is more than an animation; he’s the sport’s human anchor — the visual symbol of fairness and control.

VIII. No Excuses Left in 2025

Even if older games didn’t perfect their referees, they tried.
They respected the concept of realism.

Today’s technology removes all barriers:

Unity supports full AI nav systems.
Motion-capture pipelines can easily record referee gestures.
Modern GPUs can animate entire stadiums in 4K.

If an NES, a PlayStation 2, and an Xbox 360 could do it, Unity can do it blindfolded.
There’s no excuse left — only a lack of effort and vision.

“Realism isn’t about resolution — it’s about responsibility.”

IX. Effort vs. Excuse

Older developers made realism work under pressure and limitations.
Modern teams have infinite power but often lack the will.

You can render every sweat droplet in HDR, but if you can’t animate the referee who enforces the rules, what are you simulating?
True authenticity means representing the entire system — not just the punches.

A missing referee reveals misplaced priorities: more marketing trailers, fewer simulation engineers.

X. The Unavoidable Question

If Fight Night Champion had a visible referee in 2011…
If WWE 2K25 can feature refs and multiple wrestlers in real time…
If Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! did it in 1987 on an NES chip…

Then what’s Undisputed’s excuse?

It’s not that it’s hard.
It’s that it’s not valued.

The technology exists.
The know-how exists.
The precedent exists.
What’s missing is the commitment to realism.

XI. The Missing Referee Is the Mirror

The absence of a referee isn’t a glitch — it’s a mirror reflecting what the studio prioritizes.

In 2025, with Unity’s capabilities and decades of examples, the decision not to include a visible referee isn’t innovation — it’s evasion.

The referee symbolizes the realism, structure, and respect that define boxing.
Without him, Undisputed becomes just another boxing-themed brawler, not a living simulation of the sport.

Until the third man steps back into the ring, the game will remain what it is:
a showcase of technology without understanding of tradition.

“If a company can simulate sweat but not a referee, it’s not the engine that’s limited — it’s the imagination.”

Author’s Note

Written by Poe’s Think Tank — advocate for authenticity in sports simulation and AI realism in gaming.
Follow the #RealismSells series for deep dives into how design decisions shape the soul of modern sports games.

Poe’s Game Intel

Monday, November 3, 2025