Back in the early-to-mid 2000s, the Def Jam series was one of the most well-received fighting games available. Built on the AKI Engine of old wrestling games, the Def Jam games featured playable rappers like Ice-T, DMX, Ludacris, Ghostface Killah, and Busta Rhymes as fighters with various move sets, abilities, and more.
It’s a series that fans have wanted to see revived since the last game, Def Jam: Icon, released in 2007. Unfortunately, it’s been 17 years and it doesn’t look like a revival, or even a remake, is on the horizon.
In a recent post on Twitter, Ice-T commented about the series never being brought back for newer consoles.
“So many people ask me why this game hasn’t been brought back for the newer consoles,” he said. “Maybe because they’d have to pay for voice and music rights again. Maybe?”
In a follow-up, Ice-T then said that he wasn’t paid for being in Def Jam: Fight for NY, and didn’t recall any of the other licensed hip-hop artists being paid, either.
“Here’s the BIG problem,” he said. “I don’t think they paid ANY of us ANYTHING to be in that original game.
“I know I didn’t get any type of substantial money. It was a situation where you didn’t want to be left OUT of the game. Well….. Yesterday’s price is not Today’s price..!”
What did you think of the Def Jam series from the mid-2000s? For more Insider Gaming, read who has been cast to play Abby in HBO’s The Last of Us.
