Maybe you're too young to remember Kickboxer, the 1989 martial arts movie where Jean-Claude Van Damme learns Muay Thai in a training montage, kicks down a banana tree, and dances in a way that suggests his ballet training was all for naught. Even as someone who wasted a good chunk of my life watching martial arts movies, I only just learned that Kickboxer, er, kicked off a series that led to four sequels, a reboot, and a sequel to said reboot. And next: a videogame.
Force Multiplier Studios has the rights to games based on the Kickboxer cinematic universe, and is making a game it says "will combine the rich narrative of Kickboxer with kinetic martial arts action to deliver an intense, high-octane brawler, and feature iconic characters and locations from the franchise".
The founders of Force Multiplier Studios have Tales from the Borderlands and multiple Call of Duty games among their credits, but I can't imagine a brawler based on Kickboxer being much like either of those things. Though I do hope there's room in it for a dancing rhythm game.
In a press release, CEO of Force Multiplier Studios Jeremy Breslau said, "we can't wait to innovate the fighting genre with incredibly visceral combat and an emphasis on the environment and what you can do in it. We are crafting a dynamic brawler that will empower players to be the best kickboxers in the world, traveling to exotic locales and introducing new environmental combat mechanics to deliver a martial arts experience like never before."
Maybe "environmental combat mechanics" means you'll be able to kick a pillar to intimidate your opponent. Force Multiplier says we can expect to hear more about the Kickboxer game later in 2025.
