Steel City Interactive and the 5% vs 95% Problem: Are Hardcore Boxing Fans Being Left Behind?
Introduction: The Promise vs. the Reality
When Undisputed first entered the public eye, Steel City Interactive (SCI) sold a vision that electrified boxing gamers everywhere: an authentic, realistic boxing experience that would finally carry the torch left behind by EA’s Fight Night Champion. Marketing used words like “simulation,” “realism,” and “the most authentic boxing game ever made.”
On paper, this was a message aimed squarely at the hardcore boxing community — the fans who live and breathe the sport, who have been begging for a sim for more than a decade, and who stick with a game long after casuals drift away.
But as the game matured, a contradiction surfaced. Gameplay leaned toward hybrid and arcade mechanics — high punch volume, shared animations, missing referee/clinch systems — while the owner of SCI, Ash Habib, publicly framed the audience as “5% hardcore vs. 95% casual.”
This comment wasn’t based on data — it was hypothetical framing, used to justify development choices. And that framing says a lot about where SCI’s priorities lie.
Marketing to the Hardcore, Building for the Casual
On the surface, SCI has taken multiple steps to appeal to hardcore boxing fans:
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Licensing big-name fighters to give the game legitimacy.
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Promising realism with deep punch variety, stamina systems, and nuanced footwork.
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Community feedback loops where high-hour players (1,000+ hours) provide technical critique.
But when players actually experience Undisputed, the mechanics tell a different story:
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Stamina & Recovery: Allows punch-spamming at volumes that defy realism.
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Boxer Individuality: Most fighters feel similar because animations are recycled and traits don’t fully function.
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Missing Fundamentals: No referees, clinching, or advanced tendencies despite years of development.
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Balance Philosophy: SCI repeatedly leans on the word “balance” as a shield for decisions that dilute authenticity in favor of accessibility.
The result? Hardcore fans feel marketed to but not built for.
The “5% vs. 95%” Comment: A Window Into SCI’s Mindset
Ash Habib’s infamous “5% vs 95%” remark was not a statistic — it was a rhetorical move. By framing the audience this way, SCI justifies decisions that skew toward hybrid/arcade systems:
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5% = Hardcore Sim Fans
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Vocal, demanding, detail-obsessed.
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Want referees, clinching, tendencies, realistic stamina, boxer individuality.
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Will pay for DLC, sliders, and stay loyal for years.
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95% = Casual Players
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Viewed as the main revenue base.
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Easier to please with simpler, faster, more “fun” mechanics.
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Less interested in depth, more interested in pick-up-and-play.
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By presenting the split as extreme, Ash effectively says: “We’re not ignoring hardcore fans, but we can’t build the game around them.” It turns development compromises into inevitabilities — not choices.
Why Hypothetical Framing Matters
The danger of this kind of framing is that it erases nuance. In reality:
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Casual players often do want realism because it feels fresh compared to arcade brawlers.
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Hardcore fans aren’t just “5%” — they’re the backbone of the community, DLC buyers, and long-term evangelists.
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The line between casual and hardcore is blurred. Many casuals become hardcore when systems are deep and rewarding.
By leaning on the hypothetical 5/95 split, SCI reduces the conversation to extremes. It allows them to dismiss criticism from hardcore fans as “just the 5%” while reassuring investors that the game is being built for the majority.
The Optics Problem: Distrust and Alienation
To the hardcore fanbase, Ash’s framing reads like a declaration of intent:
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“We’re not building this game primarily for you.”
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“Your demands are too expensive and niche to matter.”
This creates:
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Distrust: Hardcore fans no longer believe the authenticity marketing.
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Division: Casual fans are framed as the majority, while hardcore fans are cast as “gatekeepers.”
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Alienation: Fans who gave early support feel abandoned, especially when features promised in early development were cut or delayed indefinitely.
And the irony? When the gameplay is too shallow, even casuals move on quickly. Hardcore fans are the ones who would have stuck around, streamed the game, and bought into every update.
The Long-Term Risk for SCI
By leaning on hypotheticals and hybrid design, SCI risks:
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Building a game that satisfies neither side fully — too arcade for sim fans, too shallow for casuals.
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Losing the very audience that legitimized the project in the first place.
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Watching a competitor eventually seize the niche by going all-in on realism and depth.
Boxing is not like basketball or football, where millions of casuals buy in yearly. It’s a niche sport with a loyal hardcore fanbase. To dismiss them as “5%” — even hypothetically — is to misunderstand the foundation of sustainable success.
Conclusion: What the 5% vs 95% Really Says
Ash’s comment was never about real numbers. It was about framing:
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Framing hardcore demands as unrealistic.
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Framing development shortcuts as logical.
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Framing SCI’s direction as serving the “majority.”
But what it really says is this: SCI values short-term accessibility over long-term authenticity.
The tragedy is that the hardcore boxing community — the so-called “5%” — isn’t just a minority. They’re the lifeblood of the sport in gaming. Without them, Undisputed risks being just another flashy but forgettable title. With them, it could have been the definitive boxing sim of a generation.
✅ Final Word:
When SCI leans on “5% vs 95%,” they’re not citing data — they’re choosing sides. And until they recognize the true value of hardcore fans, their “authentic boxing game” will always feel caught in the middle, leaning toward arcade, while the very audience that believed in them most is left asking: “Who is this game really for?”
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