When is the XDefiant release date? One of the biggest upcoming releases for first-person shooter fans, XDefiant aims to be a breath of fresh air while also crafting a nostalgic experience that fans of older Call of Duty titles will love.
Following a few closed and open beta tests, XDefiant has impressed us with its gameplay and map design, putting it on course to be one of the best FPS games – however, actually getting the final product out the door has been a bit of a fiasco for Ubisoft. We’re confident it will join our best free shooting games list when it does finally arrive, but when can you actually expect to put together your best XDefiant loadout and dominate your opponents?
XDefiant release date estimate
After missing its most recent launch window, we now estimate that the XDefiant release date will arrive in either May or June 2024 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
After previously promising to launch before March 31, 2024, the XDefiant release date is now up in the air once again. In a statement at the end of March, Ubisoft says it would only commit to a new release date after a server test had been conducted. We’ve now had that server test, which executive producer Mark Rubin said went “really well”. A release date announcement is expected very soon, and we’ll be sure to update you once Ubisoft confirms it.
Below you can read the statement Ubisoft issued confirming that XDefiant would be delayed and wouldn’t release before March 31.
The March deadline was the second major deadline that XDefiant has missed. Initially, Ubisoft promised that the game would launch in the summer of 2023. The below statement from October 9, 2023, announced that particular delay.
There have been various reasons – some officially confirmed, others rumored – as to why XDefiant has been pushed back for so long. Below you can find a timeline of events explaining why the shooter has been delayed so many times.
Why was XDefiant delayed?
Originally set for a summer 2023 release date, things seemed to be going well with XDefiant at first. After a few closed beta sessions, Rubin confirmed during Ubisoft Forward 2023 that the game would be having an open beta session in June 2023 for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC.
Following the open beta, the developers quietly delayed the last-gen versions of the game only, stating in a tweet that the team is “working on last-gen platforms for later” – with how long it’s taking just to get the current-gen versions out the door, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the PS4 and Xbox One versions shelved completely.
After a long summer of waiting for the game to launch, XDefiant failed a QA test for major platforms, as stated in an Ubisoft blog post from September 11, and a Public Test Session for further testing took place shortly after that in late September.
Unfortunately, on October 9, Ubisoft released a statement saying that it discovered “inconsistencies in the game experience” during this Public Test Session and that it would be indefinitely delaying XDefiant. Despite initially looking on track to meet its Summer 2023 target window, it’s clear that there were some deeper issues with the game that required a lot more development time.
In a tweet on November 1, 2023, Rubin confirmed that the main culprit for the delay was due to frame spikes caused by some anti-cheat software, and he also confirmed that the team had replaced the social system due to issues it had under heavy load. Not only that, but Rubin confirmed that the team behind XDefiant is also replacing the “low-level network transport layer”, which he says will reduce latency and occasional de-sync that players may perceive when another player has packet loss issues.
Ubisoft is also switching the servers over to Linux, which Rubin suggests will improve the overall server performance, which will make the launch smoother and allow for servers to spin up faster for handling a larger number of players.
In an update from executive producer Mark Rubin on January 27, 2024, he further explained that the major blockers have been XDefiant’s Party System, netcode, and servers.
In February 2024, a financial report from Ubisoft suggested that XDefiant would be out before the end of the 2023/24 financial year, which would mean it would be in players’ hands before March 31, 2024. There were encouraging signs that it would hit that deadline, with trophies appearing out of nowhere and plans for a Rainbow Six Siege-themed Season 1 going live early.
However, as we got closer and closer to that deadline it seemed more and more likely that XDefiant would yet again miss a release window. Reports from insiders claimed that, as well as all the technical setbacks, another big reason for the delays to XDefiant was Ubisoft’s desire to make it as Call of Duty-like as possible. This was denied by developers, and Rubin had also previously expressed that the game wasn’t interested in imitating COD in an interview with us last year.
On March 29, XDefiant released a statement confirming it did intend to release in March, but would have to be delayed again. No new release window was given, but Ubisoft said a date will be set after it concluded a server stress test.
From April 19-21, this stress test was conducted across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. While players were met with a fair few issues, and the gameplay felt somewhat heavier and clunkier than previous betas in 2023, Rubin deemed the test a success and that a final release date for XDefiant would be announced soon.
XDefiant gameplay
A 6v6 arena-based shooter at its core, XDefiant is an arcade-like experience that both casual FPS players and competitive fans can enjoy.
The aforementioned Mark Rubin is leading development on XDefiant and that’s an important thing to note. He produced the original Modern Warfare series, highly touted as one of the best subseries in Call of Duty history. Bringing his knowledge (and his transparency with fans) to this brand-new IP has certainly helped generate interest around it.
While it sounds great having an FPS game inspired by old Call of Duty titles, that’s not all. The XDefiant factions – which are inspired by various major Ubisoft IPs like Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and more – all offer different abilities, giving XDefiant a much more team-oriented feel over recent COD games.
Picking a faction and class is only half the battle, as you’ll want to keep an eye on the XDefiant meta to see which of the many XDefiant weapons are currently on top, especially if you’re competitive like us. Like recent COD games, there is an attachment system that lets you customize your weapons.
There are a bunch of XDefiant game modes, most of which you’ve likely seen in other FPS games like Domination or Escort. It’s also been confirmed that XDefiant won’t have skill-based matchmaking in its main modes.
According to Rubin, XDefiant will ship with a “Welcome Playlist” for players below level 25 that does utilize SBMM, but this is only to help with onboarding newbies. Beyond that, it won’t be present in casual matches. Ranked modes will have ranked-based matchmaking though, Rubin has clarified. In the same thread, Rubin highlights the possibility for “yearly prestiges,” seeing as XDefiant’s lifecycle will (hopefully) extend far beyond CoD’s annual scope.
From our time playing the game through its open and closed betas, we’ve found XDefiant’s gameplay to be super enjoyable. With the gunplay and the individual faction abilities, it reminds us of games like Call of Duty Black Ops 3 and Black Ops 4 – and that’s not a bad thing at all.
XDefiant roadmap
Before the unfortunate delays, Ubisoft confirmed a roadmap for the first year of XDefiant, which would come into effect following a six-week ‘pre-season’ at launch. Ubisoft promised that during XDefiant’s first year, the game would receive four new factions, 12 new weapons, and 12 new maps, as well as new modes, competitive options, and extra comfort features for accessibility and learning the game.
This is in addition to the existing content from the beta tests, which already offered 24 weapons, 14 maps, five game modes, and five factions.
Despite the setbacks in getting the game out the door, we expect that XDefiant’s ambitious Year 1 roadmap and the content that it promised will remain largely in tact. However, if anything does change, we’ll update this article to reflect that.
XDefiant alternatives
The multiple delays to XDefiant have been super frustrating for FPS fans, but there are plenty of other alternatives that will keep you entertained until Ubisoft’s shooter finally arrives.
We’ll start with the most obvious, and that’s Call of Duty. The current main series game, Modern Warfare 3, boasts really enjoyable multiplayer action and its chaotic playlists and limited-time modes are a hoot. It’s competitive ranked experience is arguably the best its been for a number of years too. However, the likelihood is that if you’re excited for XDefiant, you’re probably a COD player already. So what else is there?
We wholeheartedly recommend Embark Studios’ destructive arena shooter The Finals. With several game modes, three classes to choose from that have distinct abilities and weapons, and a totally unique feel and aesthetic compared to most other shooters out there, it’s an absolute blast. The main difference between The Finals and XDefiant is that you can destroy pretty much everything in Embark’s FPS – slap a C4 on the side of a building, and watch it turn to dust.
You could also give Ubisoft’s far more tactical FPS experience, Rainbow Six Siege, a go to get yourself familiar with some of the factions and abilities that will appear. Be warned though, this is a far more strategic experience than the more chaotic, run-and-gun gameplay in XDefiant.
That’s everything we know ahead of the XDefiant release date right now. It may be worth picking up one of the best Xbox controllers or best PS5 controllers ahead of launch so you can quickly make your way through the ranks when it does arrive. If you want to see if there are any other competitive titles on the horizon, our new PS5 games and new Xbox games lists have all of the upcoming games that are arriving soon.
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