EA Sports UFC 3: Cover, Roster, Trailers, Release Date, Features and Modes

Promising major upgrades in the realm of fan service, UFC 3 approaches with high expectations for MMA fans and beyond on February 2, or January 25 for EA Access subscribers. 

It's hard to avoid the hype of a game with Conor McGregor draped on the cover, the third collaborative effort between EA Sports and the UFC. 

This iteration promises major upgrades in gameplay via new animation technology, as well as a robust single-player experience. Customizable multiplayer modes are a big talking point as well, completing a trifecta understandably boosting expectations for the third game in a budding series. 

Of course, it wouldn't be an upcoming sports title without major chatter about the roster—and EA Sports delivers in a big way this year, boasting more than 230 fighters at launch. The expansive list includes women's Strawweight and Bantamweight divisions, along with the fly through heavyweight divisions for men.

The game's official website has the entire roster with player ratings listed here. 

As far as modes and features go, the biggest talking point is the new G.O.A.T. Career Mode, where players have to carefully choose how they balance activities both inside and outside the Octagon. This challenge presents itself in various forms, from needing to train in camps before fights to help build hype for the events, which can range from posting on social media to streaming a game on Twitch and beyond. 

Players enter the new career mode and get to choose gender and weight class before instantly becoming a member of the World Fighting Alliance. From there, it's up to the player as to how fast they make it to the UFC. 

EA.com explained the natural progression: "Once you sign your first UFC contract, your ability to accomplish the objectives set out for you determines the quality of your next contract. Better contracts means more cash, and more cash lets you unlock better training gyms where you can develop your fighter." 

It's more complex than that, of course. Properly balancing the promotion and fighting skills is key to becoming one of the best ever, something the game will track through new in-game cutscenes featuring the created character. 

Of course, a strong career mode won't matter much if casual and hardcore fans don't feel like the game strikes a strong balance between realism and fun. 

For EA, the solution is what they call Real Player Motion Tech, a rebuilt animation system allowing for accurate recreation of individual fighter styles a fan would see in a live broadcast. The system also allows for a better risk-reward system, where accurate damage leaves players vulnerable but opponents exploitable. 

"Combinations are much more fluid than they’ve been in the past," creative director Brian Hayes told Bob Fekete of Player.One. "We captured the combinations as one piece of data. If you input them into the game correctly, you’ll see very fluid motions."

Besides career mode and its capitalization on an improved gameplay system, UFC 3 promises the return of the ever-popular Ultimate Team, where players will get to collect a dream-team list of fighters in a stable before heading online. 

Speaking of online, popular modes such as Knockout Mode and Stand & Bang return, as does a tournament mode. Perhaps most importantly, Fight Now Custom allows players more control than in past iterations, according to EA.com: "You can tune and adjust everything including stamina, transition speed, submission speed, grapple advantage, damage, health recovery and perks to create the ultimate bout."

On paper, UFC 3 promises many things, and like its cover star in the Octagon, doesn't figure to have many problems delivering. The third offering in this series looks like a sweet spot where developer vision and fans' wants collide in the best of ways. 

Fans who want to enjoy the upgraded experience while the developers next start to build upon a strong base can grab it as early as January 25 or on launch day, February 2. 

Information courtesy of EASports.com unless otherwise specified.