How Will “Raczilla” Kinsler Steered Undisputed Away from Ash Habib’s Original Vision
When Ash Habib first introduced Esports Boxing Club (ESBC) to the world, he sold boxing fans on a dream: a true simulation — the NBA 2K of boxing. We were shown early builds with physics-based blocking, precision footwork, deep AI tendencies, referee integration, and pacing that felt closer to a real bout than anything since Fight Night Champion.
For fans who had gone a decade without a proper boxing sim, this was lightning in a bottle. The excitement was real. The mechanics were there. The vision was clear.
But somewhere along the way, that vision started to shift.
Enter Will “Raczilla” Kinsler
When Raczilla joined Steel City Interactive, he didn’t come in as a nameless employee. His résumé carried weight — EA Tiburon, Epic Games, years in community and publishing roles. At SCI, he began as Comms Director, but eventually took on the title of Authenticity Director, a role that gave him access to multiple teams and the power to shape how “authenticity” would be defined inside the studio.
Publicly, he’s always been careful. In the Undisputed Discord, his words are measured, often framed in a way that projects collaboration without direct ownership of decisions.
The Collaboration Shield
Again and again in public chat, Raczilla leans on the same framing:
"I'm more of a collaborator… I provide information rather than being someone who would veto a decision."
It’s a clever position. On one hand, it sounds humble — just another team member, offering thoughts. On the other, “providing information” to the right people at the right time is exactly how influence works in development. He doesn’t have to “veto” to set a course.
Rewriting the Past: The ‘Video’ Move
One of the most telling exchanges comes when fans bring up the original ESBC build — the one that hooked so many of us. Instead of acknowledging it as a playable version of the game, Raczilla reframes it:
"What you're seeing here isn't a game but a small slice of something that's work in progress… We're comparing a video and a game… it's apples and oranges."
By calling it a “video,” he subtly strips it of its credibility as a reference point. You can’t reasonably compare a “video” to a live game build, right? That’s the idea. It’s a linguistic sleight of hand that turns tangible evidence of the original vision into something abstract and dismissible.
Redefining ‘Authenticity’
In almost every message about direction, Raczilla keeps the word “authenticity” front and center.
"I focus a lot on the fighters but jump around and collaborate with different teams in terms of providing feedback and info to help us keep moving toward authenticity."
The problem is that “authenticity” has become elastic. Under Ash’s early vision, it meant simulation realism. Under Raczilla’s influence, it’s been reframed to coexist with faster pacing, esports balancing, and arcade-friendly mechanics. Authenticity now means “as authentic as we can be while keeping it fun for everyone” — which is a far cry from the sim-first promises that sold this project.
The Development Struggle Narrative
Whenever pushback hits, Raczilla often returns to a familiar defense:
"Anything and everything in this project has been done by SCI for the very first time. Sometimes that's been messy!"
On its own, that’s true — first-time studios do face steep learning curves. But as a public statement, it’s a way to make removed features, slowed AI development, and mechanical pivots sound like unavoidable growing pains rather than conscious design changes.
The Source Code Question
One of the strangest claims to come out of SCI in recent months is the suggestion that they no longer have access to certain work-in-progress builds or source code from earlier in development. For anyone with even passing knowledge of game production, that’s almost unthinkable.
Source code, prototypes, and in-progress models are always archived — not just for legal and historical reasons, but for technical ones. Studios store every branch, every major milestone, and every playable test build, often across multiple backups, precisely so they can revisit and reuse earlier work.
To say it’s been “lost” is either a serious red flag about project management or an intentional distancing from that version of the game — a version that fans have been asking about ever since the mechanics started shifting.
The Hypnotic Loop
The pattern becomes clear if you’ve been in the Discord long enough:
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Acknowledge frustration. (“I understand where you’re coming from.”)
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Affirm the love for boxing. (“I’m a fan of the vision too.”)
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Reassure progress. (“We’re moving toward authenticity.”)
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Redirect to safe topics. (Community building, content creators, development challenges.)
It’s a loop that keeps fans from staying locked on the uncomfortable question: Why does the game no longer play like the sim we were promised?
Ash’s Vision vs. Today’s Game
By the time Undisputed hit its current state:
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Physics-based blocking was gone.
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Precision small-step movement was cut back.
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Referees were reduced to minimal presentation.
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AI tendencies — once a big selling point — were scaled down.
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The pace shifted toward quicker, esports-style exchanges.
Yet in interviews and community chats, Ash’s language has started to echo the “balanced for fun” framing we hear from Raczilla. The once crystal-clear sim-first identity has blurred into a hybrid product.
Why This Matters
This isn’t just about one person. It’s about how easily a niche sports game can drift from its original mission when messaging control, community framing, and behind-the-scenes influence converge.
Raczilla’s role isn’t openly dictatorial — it’s persuasive. His constant reassurance, careful word choice, and strategic reframing act like a slow, steady current. You don’t notice the shift until you realize you’re miles away from where you started.
For many fans, the dream of a true sim boxing game was the reason they backed ESBC from the start. Today, that dream feels further away than ever — not because the tech can’t handle it, but because the definition of “authentic” has been rewritten, and the evidence of what once was is being treated as if it never existed.
If you’ve been wondering how Undisputed drifted from Ash’s bold promises to the more cautious, esports-friendly product we see now, the trail is right there in the public messages. And if you’ve been feeling like the change happened without you realizing — well, that’s how subtle influence works.
