The game development studio Hypnotix first gained recognition for its Outlaw series of exaggerated-action sports games on 128-bit generation consoles. Following the critical success of the studio's Outlaw Golf in 2002, the team released Outlaw Volleyball in 2003, which is considered among the generation's best games based on the sport, even above and beyond its "outrageous" characters and ancillary "Outlaw-style" gameplay elements.
In July, 2005, leading publisher Electronic Arts announced that it had acquired the studio, with the intention that Hypnotix developers would create a new Arena Football game series; EA had obtained a long-term, exclusive license to create games based on the sports league a few months earlier. Hypnotix was integrated into EA's flagship sports studios, EA Tiberon, immediately following the acquisition.
