Female fighters coming to EA Sports UFC

Upcoming fighting game EA Sports UFC will feature playable female fighters, a first for any UFC game, Electronic Arts announced today.

The "groundbreaking" initiative will be headlined by UFC Women's Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and bantamweight contender Miesha Tate.

"This is a great moment for video games and for Mixed Martial Arts,” said EA Sports UFC general manager Dean Richards in a statement. “In our commitment to delivering the most realistic fighting experience ever achieved, we wanted to represent the full spectrum of talent and diversity of all the fighters in the sport, including women who have become an undeniable force to be reckoned with.”

EA Sports UFC is powered by the EA Sports Ignite engine and will release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4--but not PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360--in spring 2014.

Fight Night developer EA Canada is creating the game, which is the first product since THQ sold UFC game rights to EA in June 2012.