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XDefiant

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XDefiant
Developer(s)Ubisoft San Francisco[a]
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Director(s)
  • Safy Saada
Producer(s)
  • Mark Rubin
  • Jason Schroeder
Designer(s)
  • Matt Morales
  • John E. Slaydon
Artist(s)
  • Carmen Chow
  • Yuki Takahashi
Writer(s)
  • Demian Linn
Composer(s)
  • Nicholas Bonardi
EngineSnowdrop
Platform(s)
ReleaseMay 21, 2024
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

XDefiant (formerly known as Tom Clancy's XDefiant) is a 2024 free-to-play first-person shooter game developed by Ubisoft San Francisco and published by Ubisoft. The game was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on May 21, 2024. It received mixed reviews from critics.

On December 3, 2024, Ubisoft announced that XDefiant would permanently shut down, with new player registrations and downloads no longer available. The servers are planned to sunset on June 3, 2025.[1]

Gameplay

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XDefiant features a variety of factions and classes, each with their own unique abilities and weapons. It is set in the Ubisoft universe, map locations are based on multiple Ubisoft titles' in-game locations. Players engage in fast-paced, team-based multiplayer matches across a variety of maps and game modes.[2]

The setting of the game revolves around factions called "Defiants", that previously appeared in other Ubisoft franchises. This includes The Division, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell from the Tom Clancy's brand as well as Far Cry and Watch Dogs.[3] Defiants are customizable with traits, abilities, devices, weapons and items.[4] It has 6-versus-6 linear game modes (such as "Domination" and "Escort").[5]

Development

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XDefiant was announced by Ubisoft in July 2021.[6] A closed Insider test of a pre-alpha version of XDefiant occurred in North America in 2021.[7] A second Insider test was held in February 2023.[8] A closed beta test began on April 13 and ended on April 23.[9] In March 2022, the game was rebranded as a part of the Ubisoft Originals brand, dropping the Tom Clancy's universe title, as the inclusion of characters from other Ubisoft franchises was planned, including those from the Tom Clancy's universe, as previously mentioned.[10]

On April 17, 2023, shortly after the launch of the game's closed beta, XDefiant became one of the top games to be streamed on the Twitch streaming platform, gaining around 50k viewers and passing the combined popularity of Warzone 2.0 and Modern Warfare II.[11]

During the Ubisoft Forward presentation on June 12, 2023, Ubisoft announced an open session, which started on June 20 for closed beta test participants (June 21 for all players) and ended on June 23. A Public Test Session was announced solely for PC started on September 28 and ended the following day.[12] Ubisoft planned the game to release in early-to-mid October,[13] however the game ultimately missed this window. This delay was the result of the open session, which had "surfaced some inconsistencies in the game experience", director Mark Rubin announced that XDefiant's release was delayed temporarily,[14] with the game ultimately releasing the following year.

Release

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XDefiant was released on May 21, 2024. On its launch day, it achieved 1 million unique players within two and a half hours. The milestone makes it Ubisoft's fastest game to reach 1 million unique players. 48 hours after launch, XDefiant had just over 3 million unique players and around 300,000 concurrent players across all platforms. Despite initial server issues causing many players to wait in the menu, these problems were resolved approximately eight to ten hours after launch.[15][16] By June, it had accumulated 11 million players.[17]

The Year 1 Roadmap initially included four seasons with 12 new weapons, 12 new maps, four new factions, four battle passes, as well as other new content and fixes.[18][19] Season 1 was announced along with a release date of July 2, 2024 in the Ubisoft Forward 2024 event. Content included three maps, with one map coming out per month, three new weapons, a new faction (GSK from Rainbow Six: Siege), Capture the Flag mode, ranked progression rewards, and more in-store items and bundles. The studio also revealed an XDebrief event centered on the new season, scheduled to occur a day before the season's release.[20]

In August 2024, following layoffs at numerous Ubisoft studios including the game's lead developer, Ubisoft San Francisco, it was rumored that Ubisoft was considering ending support for the game, as the concurrent player count had dropped below 20,000 players.[21] Season 2 launched on September 24, 2024, with the Highwaymen from Far Cry New Dawn joining the game as a new faction.[22]

On October 15, 2024, the game's executive producer, Mark Rubin, finally addressed the rumors of the game's imminent closure and stated that it was not being cancelled at that time. He further stated that plans for Year 2 content were still in place, reassuring players that updates and future developments were underway.[23] On December 3, 2024, only a month and a half following his denial of the game's closure, Rubin announced that Ubisoft would be discontinuing development of the game, with new player registrations and downloads stopping the same day and automatically refunding previous 30-day sales and DLC costs back to players. Lead developer Ubisoft San Francisco was also announced to be closing as a result. Season 3 content is still set to be released on an unannounced date, with the servers planned to shut down on June 3, 2025.[1][24]

Reception

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XDefiant received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[28]

Notes

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  1. ^ Additional work by Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft Düsseldorf, Ubisoft Sydney, Ubisoft Pune, Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft Mumbai, Ubisoft Saguenay, Ubisoft Kyiv, Ubisoft Odesa, Ubisoft Osaka, Ubisoft Winnipeg and Red Storm Entertainment

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ubisoft discontinues development on free-to-play shooter XDefiant". Venturebeat. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "XDefiant | Ubisoft (US)". www.ubisoft.com. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  3. ^ "XDefiant | Ubisoft (US)". Archived from the original on June 12, 2024.
  4. ^ Gonzalez, Oscar (July 19, 2021). "Tom Clancy's XDefiant lets players play the bad guys from the Clancyverse". CNET. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "XDefiant | Ubisoft (US)". www.ubisoft.com. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  6. ^ McWhertor, Michael (July 19, 2021). "Ubisoft announces Tom Clancy's XDefiant, a colorfully chaotic free-to-play FPS". Polygon. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  7. ^ "XDefiant Developer Update: Closed Test Results" (Press release). Ubisoft. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  8. ^ "Announcing Cross-Play Insider Session" (Press release). Ubisoft. February 14, 2023.
  9. ^ "Closed Beta Announcement" (Press release). Ubisoft. April 6, 2023.
  10. ^ Subhan, Ishraq (March 17, 2022). "Ubisoft drops Tom Clancy's name from XDefiant". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Saliedeen, Salmaan (April 16, 2023). "New Competitive FPS Has Surpassed Call of Duty: Warzone on Twitch". Game Rant. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  12. ^ "Getting access to the XDefiant Public Test Session". Ubisoft. Retrieved October 7, 2023.[dead link‍]
  13. ^ "An Update on the Release of XDefiant from Mark Rubin". Ubisoft. September 11, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  14. ^ Koselke, Anna (October 10, 2023). "XDefiant release delayed indefinitely due to 'inconsistencies'". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  15. ^ Henderson, Tom (May 23, 2024). "EXCLUSIVE - XDefiant Hits 1 Million Unique Players Within 2.5 Hours of Launch". Insider Gaming. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  16. ^ "Ubisoft's COD-Like Shooter XDefiant is Unplayable for Many on Launch Day".
  17. ^ "CEO Yves Guillemot on Ubisoft's Upcoming Portfolio, the Future of Assassin's Creed". news.ubisoft.com. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  18. ^ Koselke, Anna (June 12, 2023). "XDefiant launches this summer, with an open beta coming soon". PCGamesN.
  19. ^ "XDefiant - UbiForward & What's Next". Ubisoft. June 12, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  20. ^ Taylor-Hill, Grant (June 10, 2024). "XDefiant Season One Content Revealed". Insider Gaming. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  21. ^ "EXCLUSIVE - XDefiant is on Borrowed Time as Player Numbers Decline Rapidly". August 29, 2024.
  22. ^ "XDefiant Season 2: Check out release date, new content and leaks' revelations". The Economic Times. August 9, 2024.
  23. ^ "XDefiant Is Not Shutting Down, Executive Producer Says, Year 2 Still Planned". GameSpot. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  24. ^ Lawler, Richard (December 4, 2024). "Ubisoft shooter XDefiant is shutting down and sending refunds to players". The Verge. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  25. ^ "XDefiant critic reviews (PC)". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  26. ^ "XDefiant critic reviews (XSXS)". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  27. ^ "XDefiant critic reviews (PS5)". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  28. ^ "XDefiant". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
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