Thousands of fans petition to bring back Def Jam for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S

Thousands of fans have rallied together to create a petition asking EA to bring back the Def Jam franchise on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

It’s been a whopping 16 years since we were last graced with a Def Jam game. Can you believe it? It all kicked off in 2002 with Def Jam Vendetta, followed by 2004’s Def Jam: Fight for NY, and finally 2007’s Def Jam: Icon. There was, of course, also 2006’s Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover but that was simply a PlayStation Portable port. The fighting game franchise remains a nostalgic favourite for many fans. It’s pretty trendy to revisit such properties these days, as studios fear the risks that come with debuting a new IP. Even well-performing games like Fortnite have resorted to bringing back OG maps as a way to tap into the nostalgia craze.

Fortnite Chapter 5, Season 1: Underground has now landed. Take a look at the trailer below.

Def Jam fans are hoping it’ll be the next franchise to get the remaster or remake treatment. In fact, it’s something they’ve been hoping for for quite some time. A petition was set up by fans three years ago, in 2020, over on change.org. It reads, “This is the official petition for the release of DEF JAM WORLD WAR on next generation consoles! EA Games, the world needs this.”

They do say slow and steady wins the race. You might be thinking, ‘Set up in 2020? Isn’t that old news?’ Nope. You are incorrect. The petition has really picked up traction in the last few months. First, it hit a major milestone of 10,000 signers, and now, it’s surpassed 12,000. See? Sometimes these things take a while to get going.

Just a couple of days ago, one fan commented, “This game is legendary,” while another added, “This would be a hit. I used to love this game. Please remake it.” Someone else said, “This still is my favourite game of all time.” There are plenty of other comments added in the last month or so featuring similar sentiments. EA has announced no such plans to revisit the franchise but we can always cross our fingers and hope.