If you're wondering whether UFC 4 will be playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X via backwards compatibility, it sounds like you're thinking along the same lines as the team at EA - they're keen to make use of this feature, but they haven't been able to test the next-gen transition yet.
To backtrack a little: UFC 4 has been officially announced today, with PS4 and Xbox One confirmed as the consoles it's going to launch on come 14th August.
READ MORE:All the essential info on UFC 4
However, there's an interesting wrinkle to the story of the game's rollout: EA is bound to be asked whether the game is coming to next-gen systems, but that's a question they can't answer yet. Keep reading for more info...
UFC 4 on PS5 and Xbox Series X has NOT been tested yet
A clarification regarding UFC 4’s availability on PS5 and Xbox Series X has been shared with the gaming press, and it sounds like EA isn't quite in a position to confirm a next-gen launch just yet.
In the words of UFC 4’s Creative Director Brian Hayes: “If both consoles support backwards compatibility for Gen 4 games then, presumably, fans will be able to play UFC 4 on their Gen 5 consoles."
“We haven't yet had an opportunity to test this out and determine whether any additional development work is required to leverage Backward Compatibility, but we hope to see UFC 4 playable on Gen 5 hardware using that feature.”
READ MORE: UFC 4 Career Mode - New Fighter Evolution, More Customability, Create a Fighter & more
Is backwards compatibility further away than we thought?
It's interesting to hear such a high-level staff member at a huge company like EA being somewhat left in the dark on this. It sounds like Hayes is in a similar situation to the average gamer: waiting for some official clarification from Sony and Microsoft as to how next-gen backwards compatibility will work.
With this in mind, it's easy to wonder whether the development of backwards compatibility is not as far along as we thought. After all, you might have thought that EA was already testing whether its current-gen games will run on PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Xbox Series X backwards compatibility has already been spoken about publicly, with Microsoft teasing that even classic Xbox games will work on Xbox Series X. Likewise, Sony has promised that heaps of PS4 games will run on PS5, and a recent patent suggested that PS1, PS2 and PS3 games will be playable through the cloud on PS5.
Of course, only time will tell when UFC 4 arrives on next-gen consoles, and we'll just have to wait and watch to find out whether backwards compatibility is fully functional when these new consoles launch later this year.
Meanwhile, over at 2K, it has been revealed that NBA 2K21 will cost a little more on next-gen because of all the extra work that's going into the upcoming basketball game's PS5 and Xbox Series X release. With all these different moves being made by developers, it's only natural to be a little confused about how the transition onto next-gen will work... watch this space, basically!
READ MORE: UFC 4 Gameplay - All new striking, clinch, grappling & submissions