Remember when Ubisoft announced its free-to-play shooter XDefiant? It had the Tom Clancy name attached, its presentation is punk rock for some reason and despite being a game about boots-on-the-ground, aim-down-sights-heavy FPS the tone is all jovial- the XD in the logo is an emoticon.
Well, all of that has been scrapped as XDefiant has a more generic-but-more-welcomed aesthetic, removed from the Tom Clancy association so it can incorporate more kinds of factions and the XD logo is gone.
Developed by Ubisoft San Francisco, XDefiant is a fast-paced arcade FPS with ultra abilities. Players can pick from the five Ubisoft-inspired factions which are the Echelons (Splinter Cell), the Cleaners (The Division), Libertads (Far Cry 6), DeadSec (Watch Dogs) and Phantoms (Ghost Recon). Each faction has a different set of abilities that will give you some tactical advantage when played right- but also can be countered.
You can also carry the match with sharp gunplay. For that, you have access to 24 weapons each customisable with 44 different attachments.
XDefiant’s closed beta is currently live until April 23. The beta includes the following content:
- 4 of the 5factions (no DeadSec)
- 1 of the 3 characters available in each faction
- 14 maps, all will be available at launch
- 24 weapons
- 44 attachments
- 5 explosive devices
Progression won’t be carried over to launch, but participants of the closed beta will get to keep up to 10 cosmetic items.
XDefiant, being a free-to-play game, will be a live service with plans to offer a new season of content every three months.
XDefiant has no release date yet. It will be available on PS5, PC (Ubisoft Connect) and Xbox Series X|S, with cross-play supported.