I got knocked out by an actual Olympic boxer in The Thrill of the Fight 2

It’s a multiplayer VR boxing game but it still hurt

Tony Jeffries in The Thrill of the Fight 2's Early Access launch trailer / Halfbrick Studios

The Thrill of the Fight 2 developer Halfbrick Studios has organized an online multiplayer bout of its virtual reality boxing game, which is how I’ve found myself about to have what feels like a very real fight against a man who gets paid to punch people in the face.

We glare across the ring at each other. In one corner is former pro boxer Tony Jeffries, British bronze-winning medalist at the 2008 Olympics. In the other is me, who’s played through the story in Fight Night Champion. Also, I’m playing as a woman because I forgot to customize my character.

After touching gloves, Jeffries wastes no time getting to work. A lightning-fast combo leaves me stunned, turning my vision white and prompting a ringing in my ears. Seconds later, I’m on the floor.

These effects are the only part of The Thrill of the Fight 2 that you could call ‘gamey’. Outside of some visuals used to convey the fact you’re suffering major head trauma, this is as real as it gets without lacing up a pair of boxing boots. 

Tony Jeffries / Halfbrick Studios

It’s just as strenuous, too. Around three years ago, when, by his own admission, Jeffries was overweight, the game helped him drop 35lbs.

“I started playing Thrill of the Fight, and I was exhausted, to the point where I was lying down in between rounds. I got really competitive, and it helped.”

If you were wondering, Jeffries wins our match. No surprise there. In this game, real-world skills matter. Steph Curry wouldn’t necessarily dominate in NBA 2K24, but anyone with a history of throwing hands automatically has the edge in The Thrill of the Fight 2.

After the bout, I join Jeffries for a training session in which he offers me pointers to improve my game. Despite talking to me through an avatar in a virtual render of a boxing gym, the advice is universal.

Just like actual boxing, in The Thrill of the Fight 2 you’ll need to keep an eye on your range. If your opponent can’t reach you, they can’t hit you. The game’s impressively accurate hitboxes mean every inch counts. You can bait people by dangling your head in front of them, lean back when they attack, then fire a rapid counter shot.

The Thrill of the Fight 2 / Halfbrick Studios

“When they step in, pivot to create an angle,” Jeffries tells me. That’s a tip that works in any gym in the world.

Jeffries also demonstrates the effectiveness of different blocks. Holding your hands in front of your head may protect your face, but it leaves the sides of your head open for a hook. If your guard isn’t tight enough, opponents can even take advantage of the opening and sneak a well-aimed jab straight through. Reliable physics means clipping issues are rare.

Unlike real fights, there’s no injury risk. “I’ve owned boxing fitness gyms for years in Los Angeles, and people get intimidated,” says Jeffries. “They get really nervous going to the gym, but they want to do boxing. So this is a great tool for them to do that.” 

How you like to fight in real life is a reliable indicator of how you’ll do in the game. Despite the hardware not monitoring your foot position, The Thrill of the Fight miraculously manages to seamlessly render your entire body, capturing all of your movements from subtle steps to 90-degree shifts.

The Thrill of the Fight 2 / Halfbrick Studios

Everyone fights differently. That’s because the game automatically gauges your height and creates an equally proportioned avatar. It means someone who’s 6ft+ might prefer to box at range by holding out an arm and keeping their opponent at bay. Smaller fighters, meanwhile, will find more success ducking inside and duking it out with hooks to the body.

I’ve watched Jeffries teach boxing on his Instagram and YouTube accounts to millions of followers, and his in-game character adopts his exact same stance, even down to the gestures he uses while talking. It’s uncanny.

A detailed damage model gauges how hard you hit and applies that force directly to your opponent. Jeffries demonstrates the difference between flinging a quick jab from the shoulder vs using your hip to throw your whole body into the punch. The better your technique, the more power you’ll generate. In other words, skills pay the bills. It’s incredibly rewarding.

The main drawback is how much space you need - 2.5 square meters of unobstructed floor. Even my moderately sized living room barely meets the requirement, and even then I’m nervous about stepping outside the boundary and smashing my fist through a window. 

The Thrill of the Fight 2 / Halfbrick Studios

Restrictions on movement tend to take away a key weapon in your arsenal. If you lack space, there’s an option to play rooted to the spot and move your character with the thumbstick, but it’s a poor substitute for the real thing.

With that said, you can opt for mixed reality, which strips away the virtual environment and casts your opponent right there in your living room, bedroom, or wherever you decide to fight. Simply, you’re in the real world fighting a precisely tracked, accurately modeled virtual opponent. It works surprisingly well, and could also prevent you accidentally treading on your cat.

The Thrill of the Fight 2 is currently in Early Access, which means for now you’re only able to fight human opponents online and smash a training dummy offline. The developers are planning to flesh the game out with AI bots some time in 2025, as roll out balance-honing updates on a near-weekly basis.

What does the future hold for The Thrill of the Fight 2? For Jeffries, it’s about keeping up his fitness regime, and potentially settling old scores. 

The Thrill of the Fight 2 Spectator app view / Halfbrick Studios

“I lost in the Olympics to Kenny Egan from Ireland. I want to have a rematch with Kenny Egan in The Thrill of the Fight… If I can beat him, it’ll make me feel a bit better.” With the game’s spectator cam, you could even watch that grudge match as a member of the crowd. 

“We’re improving the damage system and the physics all the time, and there’s a whole bunch of arenas coming out,” adds Halfbrick Studios CEO Shainiel Deo, who was watching our session via the spectator cam’s recently introduced standalone app. “Content creators can use it to capture the footage as you would see a real match, a televised match,” he says.

After my hour-long one-on-one with Jeffries, the sponge lining on my Meta Quest 3 is soaked with sweat and my housemates are messaging on the group chat to ask why the walls are shaking. While it won’t replace an actual boxing gym, The Thrill of the Fight 2 offers just as intense a workout, and can sharpen your skills without giving you a black eye.