Is UFC 5 worth it in 2026?
Three years after release and one sequel later, the question about UFC 5 is no longer "is it good" but "is it the right $15 or $20 for me". Answering that needs three inputs: review scores, content volume, and what you personally plan to do with it.
The scores
| Source | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Metacritic (PS5) | 78 | |
| Metacritic (Xbox Series X\ | S) | 80 |
| IGN | 9/10 | |
| Game Informer | 8/10 | |
| GameRevolution | 6/10 |
That spread is informative. A 9/10 and a 6/10 for the same game usually means the reviewers weighed different things: UFC 5's presentation and damage system are genuinely excellent, and its roster at launch was thin — a criticism EA acknowledged publicly within days of release, when it published a roster update promising monthly fighter additions.
In 2026 the roster criticism is historical. The game has 74 fighter cards and over 80 fighters added across the run, and the Alter Ego list adds a second layer of playable versions on top.
The content volume
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Content updates | 31 |
| Fight Week events | 30 |
| Punch Cards | 35 |
| Alter Egos | Over 145 |
| Added fighters | Over 80 |
| Legends | 6 |
| New venues | 1 |
| Trophies | 32 (1 platinum, 6 gold, 9 silver, 16 bronze) |
For a fighting game, that is a full package. The offline side has a career with a GOAT checklist and a training loop, Fight Now with five authentic match types, and a practice mode that is genuinely useful. The online side has four modes with separate ladders.
What you cannot know
EA does not publish player counts, active user numbers or matchmaking times, and no third party has reliable access to console populations. Any page quoting a UFC 5 player count in 2026 is estimating.
What is documented: online services remain supported, Fight Week still runs with every UFC numbered event, and the game is still sold on both platform stores. That is the extent of the public evidence for "is anyone still playing".
The case for buying it
- You want a complete fighting game for the price of a takeaway. The career alone is 10–15 hours if you chase the trophies, and the mechanics library is deeper than most players will ever use.
- You play single-player. Career, Fight Now and Practice Mode are fully offline. The damage system and doctor stoppages are the best thing the game does, and they show up most in career fights.
- You want a platinum that does not dominate your month. 32 trophies, 4/10, 10–15 hours, no difficulty requirement.
- You are curious about MMA and want to learn the systems. UFC 5 is the entry with a complete published reference — the official tips library plus this site.
The case against
- You want the live game. UFC 6 is where new content goes. UFC 5's roster is closed.
- You want to play with friends on another platform. No cross-play, no exceptions.
- You need a PC version. There is none, and there will not be one.
- You bounce off grappling. Half of UFC 5's systems are on the ground. If you only want a stand-up boxing game, this is the wrong purchase.
The honest verdict
At a discount, UFC 5 is one of the better value fighting games on either console: a finished product with a complete reference library, a short trophy list and a career mode that teaches its own systems. At full price, next to a live sequel, it is a harder sell.
The deciding question is not "which is better". It is "do I want a game that is finished, or a game that is still changing". UFC 5 is the first. That is a feature if you want to master something stable, and a limitation if you want to be where the community is.
Who should skip it
- Players who only play online ranked and want a large pool of opponents.
- Players who want the current roster with the current fighters.
- Anyone on PC, PS4 or a last-generation console.
- Anyone who wants a pure striking game — UFC 5's ground game is not optional.
Who should buy it this week
- A single-player player who wants a career mode with real consequences to damage.
- A trophy hunter who wants a 10–15 hour platinum with no difficulty gate.
- Someone learning MMA who wants to understand what a grappling exchange actually consists of.
- Anyone who played UFC 4 and wants to see what the Frostbite move changed.
What to check before you pay
Three things, in order. Check the current price on your platform store rather than a guide, because a three-year-old sports game is discounted constantly and the full price is almost never the real price. Check that the edition you are buying includes what you want — the Ultimate Edition's bundle contents matter less now that the roster is closed, but the cosmetics are still edition-specific. And check which platform your friends play on before anything else, because cross-play does not exist and no discount compensates for an empty friends list.
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