XDefiant is expected to drop this year on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and here is all of the latest news about its release, post-launch plan, and more.
Ubisoft will soon release its answer to the Call of Duty franchise with XDefiant, a game that was announced in July 2021 and has since conducted several public playtests, after which many have compared the gameplay to 2012's beloved Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
XDefiant is an arena-based first-person shooter featuring locations and factions from Ubisoft's biggest game series such as Far Cry, Tom Clancy, Watch Dogs, and more.
When Will XDefiant Release?
Since its announcement in Summer 2021, XDefiant has gone through several tests that have allowed the public to get their hands on Ubisoft's new shooter. This most recently included the open beta in June 2023 after which the game was set to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC that same summer.
Following this, an official Ubisoft update in September from executive producer Mark Rubin confirmed the game had begun the submission process but received a "Not Pass," leaving more changes to be made to prepare for release. In this post, the studio estimated a release from mid-September to mid-October.
But alas, October came around to only disappointing news, as the team confirmed XDefiant had been delayed indefinitely due to "some inconsistencies in the game experience" that had to be resolved first.
The latest update from Mark Rubin came on January 27, in which he promised the team is "hard at work to get [XDefiant] to live:"
"Quick update. We are doing some private tests to verify all the work that we did in the last few months! So far things are going well, and we are all as eager to go live as you. As the team is hard at work to get us to live, we want to thank everyone who has supported us through this development."
During its latest earnings report, Ubisoft confirmed plans to launch XDefiant in the ongoing Q4 2023-24, which ends on March 31, 2024.
That has since been called into question by insider Tom Henderson, who shared on X (formerly Twitter) that XDefiant is "not releasing this [March]" with a separate post promising further details in an article later in the month.
As Henderson has a fairly strong reliability record in the gaming industry, it seems likely that XDefiant will not be released in March as Ubisoft has stated.
But regardless, the free-to-play release does seem to be around the corner, with April or May perhaps offering the most realistic timeframe.
XDefiant's Post-Release Plans
During the Ubisoft Forward event in June 2023, the studio confirmed XDefiaint will launch with a six-week pre-season that will primarily include the content players have grown familiar with across the testing and beta periods.
This will include five factions, five modes, 14 maps (10 arena and four progression), and 24 weapons. Although, as the game has since been delayed, the amount of content planned for launch may have grown since then.
Turning attention to post-launch, Ubisoft revealed that XDefiant Year 1 will be comprised of four seasons, each of which will span around three months. These major releases are expected to bring a new faction, three weapons, three maps, and a fresh 90-tier Battle Pass to progress through.
This will come alongside new arena and progression modes across the seasons and updates to the competitive scene. Among the plans for competitive players noted were ranked mode, private matches, and caster cams.
If XDefiant were to launch at some point in April, Season 1 should be expected to begin around June, with further new seasons beginning in roughly September, December, and March - but this will likely vary.
XDefiant will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
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