Meet the GTA Online role-players who built their own fighting circuit

It’s fight night and the energy in the air is electric. As fans flood into the Mazebank Arena, the fighters congregate by the side of their cages to get ready for the fights. While commentators warm up and run down the list vocally, promoters grab their phones and hype the bouts via Twitter. Los Santos is used to this event regularly, and people love Blood Night Bouts for the adrenaline and action.

Blood Night Bouts is an online fight circuit that takes place in San Andreas (a fictional state). It’s run by Blood Night Bouts. GTA OnlineNew Day role-play server. I’ve been part of the New Day community for almost two years, including volunteering as a staff member, and Blood Night Bouts has grown from six guys scrapping in a parking lot to an entertainment empire that can fill in-game stadiums.

Rockstar Games, via Rhylee fink

“Blood Night Bouts is a passion project that was created from my love of a few things,” says Android 18, the player behind Meryl Ford, the founder of Blood Night Bouts. As Android explained in a call with Polygon, “RP [role-playing], that’s pretty obvious. But the other things would be fighting games, fight culture, and sports entertainment — primarily wrestling.”

Fans of ’90s Attitude Era wrestling will spot some of its creative hallmarks lovingly homaged in Blood Night Bouts. Jim Ross’s tribute to Dan White is his in-game league commentaryator. “Dan’s the face announcer, and Meryl’s the heel,” says Rums, the player behind Dan White, in a call with Polygon. “I’ll be booing a fighter, saying he needs to be stopped and shut down, but as soon as Meryl gives a thank-you speech and the curtain closes, he’s the first person I’m coming over to for a hug.”

The fighters stick to kayfabe, even when they’re not at a fight. Kayfabe is the art of staying in character — a heel is a bad guy and a face is a good guy, even outside the ring, and keeping that narrative is all part of the fun. Even outside Blood Night Bouts, the server’s wrestling scene congregates at in-game gyms, training sessions, or meetings with fans. This is role-playing. while they’re role-playing.

But Blood Night Bouts isn’t scripted — at least, not the winners of the slobberknocker fights. “I’m a huge fan of letting things flow naturally,” says Android. Only skill and the use of the internet can decide which fights will be won. Grand Theft Auto 5The melee system allows fighters to kick, punch, throw, kick and fight. You can also add the grandeur of an arena that has been custom designed and decorated by the player, as well as the commentary of two commentators who will be selling matches, to make it a fun bit of digital theater featuring dozens of participants.

“We have ambassadors, we have streamers, we have commentators and DJs who play the music,” says Android. “We’ve got champion belts — three titles, two singles and tag team — and we’re working on a secondary division.”

Android cites her favorite match as a grueling best-of-three between championship holder Miguel “The Almighty” Mackeen-Tod and the Detrimental Darling Clara Evans, representing Bruisers’ Gym. Clara was strong from the start and won both rounds easily despite all the hype. The Almighty then made a comeback to win the series. Rums’ personal highlight is the meteoric rise and moral fall of Luke “The Drifter” McCoy, who started as one of the league’s most beloved faces and tore his way through the competition. Over time, he evolved into being one of the biggest heels in Blood Night Bouts — an unstoppable monster who Dan regularly decries.

“At the end of the day, we’re sitting here in a fake arena playing fake characters for three hours for these people in the stands that are just sitting here to be entertained by us,” says Rums. “My view of role-play is that we are our own directors, producers, script writers of our own TV show. You make it what you want every single time you log into. You are an actor in this overall TV show that everyone else is starring in, and you gotta play your role, your part in the story, and just give it your all.”