Ubisoft’s XDefiant is set to be a major entry in the first-person arena shooter genre, leveraging the publisher’s recognizable properties into a fast-paced, competitive crossover. Originally revealed as Tom Clancy’s XDefiant, the famed branding was later dropped following backlash, with the game hosting factions from Far Cry and See Dogs in addition to those pulled from Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and The Division. The free-to-play FPS releases May 21, 2024, at different times in major regions, though every platform seems to be getting the game concurrently.
XDefiant went through a series of beta tests, including a public test session which led to a delay in release, ahead of its May 21 launch. Viewed in part as a Call of Duty competitor, XDefiant brings variety to its gameplay through five factions – Far Cry‘s Libertad, Ghost Recon‘s Phantoms, Splinter Cell‘s Echelon, The Division‘s Cleaners, and See Dogs‘ DedSec – each sporting their own unique abilities. XDefiant‘s maps are similarly borrowed from these franchises, and the slate of well-trodden game modes range from Domination to Escort.
XDefiant is playable on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, leaving players who still haven’t transitioned from the PS4 and Xbox One behind. Abandoning last-gen is a move that Call of Duty has yet to make, though the teased Black Ops 6 could soon mark that new chapter for the monolithic franchise. There’s an argument to be made that XDefiant is fumbling a potentially larger player base by only supporting current-gen consoles, but it’s an undeniably forward-thinking move for what Ubisoft likely hopes will be a long-term success.
XDefiant‘s exact release times have been confirmed by the XDefiant X (formerly Twitter) account, which can be seen in the table below. XDefiant is launching simultaneously in all regions for every platform, with exact times only adjusted for relevant time zones. For the Americas, XDefiant drops in the middle of the afternoon, while Europe arguably has the ideal launch time in the evening, when most will be off work. Oceania and Asia got the short end of the stick, however, with XDefiant releasing in the earliest hours on the morning of May 22.
For anyone keen to play the game immediately, it is possible to preload XDefiant on all platforms now. The game client has been available to download since May 16, and will unlock at the above listed times. Ubisoft seems fairly confident in XDefiant‘s potential, with resources towards its ongoing development one of the stated reasons for The Division Heartland being canceled. More FPS competition is never a bad thing, and XDefiant is sure to draw a lot of attention at release, but the key will be keeping players invested long term.
Source: XDefiant/X