Ubisoft may have narrowed down the timeframe for when they will release XDefiant.
As reported by Insider Gaming, Ubisoft revealed that they intend to officially publish the free-to-play title with XDefiant Season 0 before the end of this financial year. To be clear, that date does not match up with the lunar new year, but will be on March 31, 2024.
We had previously reported on many of the bad news that’s been coming out officially and behind the scenes for this shooter, but this close to release, we may have to acknowledge that none of it may really matter to the game’s launch.
XDefiant did excite a bunch of fans when they launched their beta last year, amassing thousands of players. While Ubisoft sought to draw in interest from their hardcore fans by bringing in factions from different Ubisoft core franchises, the one thing that may truly matter about this game is director Mark Rubin.
Mark Rubin was a producer and executive in Infinity Ward. In this capacity, he was a core creative head for many of the most popular Call of Duty titles, namely, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, and Call of Duty Modern Ghosts.
So we have a classic Call of Duty guy working on the game, but now unshackled from that franchise and free to explore new ideas. Rubin, alongside co-designer Jason Schroeder and the rest of the XDefiant team, have also made a few key decisions from the fan feedback they have received from the beta.
This includes the decision to not use skill based match making across the board as we see in modern shooters today. Instead, the XDefiant team is focusing on input based match making; meaning that controller players will be matched up with other controller players, and mouse and keyboard players are also matched up with other players on mouse and keyboard, as much as possible.
While we know there are many negative reasons for the continued delay of this game, one positive reason is Ubisoft is willing to keep refining the title until they’re sure that it will have a completely smooth, controversy free launch. That means ensuring any possible bugs or technical issues are completely taken care of.
This is transparently to avoid getting into a situation like Cyberpunk 2077 or Redfall. At the same time, it’s very reminiscent of how fans spent the better half of two years giving feedback to improve Baldur’s Gate 3 in Early Access, leading it to become the 2023 TGA GOTY.
While it isn’t expected to be as big as Call of Duty, Ubisoft expects XDefiant to be one of their most profitable titles this year. They have dedicated the money and resources, and even took advantage of extended beta for fan feedback, to make it as good a game as they can make it. When it launches, it may stand in contrast to Helldivers 2 and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, as live service games done right.
