Industry
Developed by Ubisoft, XDefiant is raising big expectations in the First-person shooter community. XDefiant is still in development. However, a closed beta was launched in April 2023, reaching a peak of 100k viewers on its launch day, according to Stream Charts. During the closed beta, XDefiant achieved 1 million players playing the game.
When is XDefiant releasing?
One of the XDefiant directors, Mark Rubin, shared the idea to launch the game later this summer. However, Mark on August 23, gave an update via X, formerly Twitter, about the situation.
“We’re in a phase where we are submitting XDefiant for release and squashing any last-minute bugs. And on a new IP (i.e., not a sequel to a sequel to a sequel…) we are taking the time to get those steps right” – Mark Rubin said.
“I love how excited everyone is about our game. We’ve reached many more people than we ever expected already, and I share your frustration on just wanting to be able to play. (…) The team is hard at work, and we are making progress everyday to get the game in your hands as soon as it’s ready.” – added the Director.
XDefiant is expected to be available on PC, Playstation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Although there’s still no official release date, the game had an open beta session this year from June 21-23.
XDefiant Game Modes
Besides being free to play, the game has gained popularity with its similarities to Call of Duty. Game Modes known in arena shooters like Domination, Escort, Zone Control and Occupy will be available in the game.
Each character, called a Defiant in-game, will be similar to Operators in Rainbow Six Siege, where each character has its own unique features; categorized into classes or factions within the game. Players will also be able to choose their own weapons and other attachments.
A new breath
For FPS enthusiasts, XDefiant means a new chance to compete in a type of game lacking in the current market, with good work in the global competitive scene. Call of Duty has been very focused on the casual player and its competitive scene heavily focuses on North America.
South America is one of the regions forgotten by Activision for competitive players and XDefiant appears to be a new breath and new opportunity to dream.
João “yoona” Nerici, is experienced in Ubisoft games, and their titular FPS Rainbow Six; playing several tournaments with FaZe Clan and other teams. Yoona spoke exclusively to BLIX.GG: “I’ll give my 500% to join the competitive [scene],” he said about XDefiant. “I love to compete and since I stopped in Rainbow Six, I miss competing again.”
Nowadays, a Twitch streamer with more than a hundred thousand followers on the platform, Cristian “sn4rfx” Schroeder previously competed in Battlefield 4 and 3, Rainbow Six Siege and Call of Duty Warzone. “I look to the competitive [scene] with a lot of expectations because I know what Ubisoft Brazil made with the R6 scene in the region, and I’m sure it will be the same with XDefiant”. Said sn4rfx, before adding, “I’m very confident in the competitive because I know the developers behind the game are former pro players from other games and people that listen to the community, all that an esports title needs.”
With a past majority formed by Call of Duty players, Daniel “DaannFps” Siqueira joins the list of names with expectations over XDefiant. “I see it as a game that is coming at a very good time, where battle royale is a bit tiring, and other games do not bring the same speed of gameplay competitively speaking.”He said. “My focus is to start the game thinking about competing, I see potential absurd in the game, the company also gives me that confidence, the R6 has been around for many years, I have friends in the R6 environment, I know some people who work at Ubisoft itself and these people give me the confidence that the company respects the competitive side a lot of the game itself.”
Another XDefiant advocate, Vinicius “paranga” Elias, a Twitch streamer with experience across several FPS titles, is also interested in the game’s forthcoming competitive scene. “I'm very interested in joining the scene competitively and that's my biggest intention at the moment,” said paranga. “I really believe that the community will embrace the game and leave it with an absurd potential to be one of the greatest.”
And he has staunch reasons for feeling this way. “...the fact that Ubisoft is a company that cares about its community and also that it is a company that provides all the necessary support to improve the game.” He explains. “If all these factors are combined, there would be no reason why the game does not take off for good, both for players who want to enter the competitive arena and for casual players and content creators alike. I'm really looking forward to what's to come.”
While there’s still no official release date, XDefiant is surely set to shake things up and appear as a new opportunity for multiple players.
