XDefiant was announced in 2021, but it didn't work particularly well.The initial response to the silly, stylized title was so negative that Ubisoft crushed the whole brake for almost 1 year and later rebranded its apparently "tactical" attitude. A reputable open beta and multiple delays followed, but the stress tests promised in May went ahead and Ubisoft was clearly happy with what it saw.
The launch of XDefiant will begin with a "pre-season" scheduled to run for 5 weeks in 5 factions, 14 maps, and 5 gameplay modes: Domination, Hot shot, Occupation, and also a "Rank mode practice Playlist" in 4v4 competitive matches with Domination, occupation, escort and zone control. It's a good idea.
Once the preseason is complete, XDefiant will roll back to the "Cadence of the Season" with new weapons, maps, events, and new factions expected to be added every three months. This is what the roadmap for year one looks like:
The goofy name and overall vibe set early expectations low, but the 2023 beta test fired hope that it might actually, well, be good. Some of them are unhappy with the current state of the online shooting scene, but former Call of Duty creative strategist Robert Bowling described Xdefiant on Twitter as a "refinement" of what CoD was doing well in the original Modern Warfare era. "COD has chosen to move away from its roots and origins and expand to "all shooters,"" Bowling tweeted. "XDefiant knows what it is and is doing it well.PC gamer editors Tyler Wilde and Morgan Park also enjoyed the time.
Whether XDefiant has the juice to find a lasting place among shooter fans is an open question, but Ubisoft has had the luck to quietly fill those niches.Rainbow Six Siege is an obvious example, but For Honor and Division2 are also ticking nicely a few years after launch.
XDefiant will be available on PCs from the Ubisoft Store.
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