Knockout Kings 2002

Sales were strong and players were responding well to the franchise. But that kind of success tends to attract corporate attention, and in this case it meant Electronic Arts (EA) wanted to bring development in-house. They weren't comfortable having an external studio like BlackOps continue developing what was becoming a major franchise.

The Joint Development Year

Knockout Kings 2002 marked a shift. Development became a joint effort between EA and BlackOps. We shared the codebase and added support for the new Xbox console alongside PlayStation 2 (PS2). It was a transitional year in every sense.

Polish Over Innovation

The focus for this version was refinement rather than revolution. We didn't add any major new features. Instead, we concentrated on small enhancements and polish, making the game much tighter and more refined than previous versions. Sometimes that's what a game needs - not more stuff, just better execution of what's already there.

The End of an Era

Knockout Kings 2002 was the last version developed by BlackOps. To be honest, we were ready to move on. The development process had become less enjoyable with more corporate oversight, more process, and more rigid scheduling. The creative freedom we'd had in earlier versions was gone. It was time for a change.