Image: Ubisoft
Ubisoft’s crossover-packed shooter XDefiant will officially launch this month.
Ubisoft’s free-to-play multiplayer game XDefiant was first announced back in 2021, pulling together properties like Splinter Cell, The Division, Far Cry, Ghost Recon and Watch Dogs for 6v6 first-person shooter gameplay. The game was delayed from its originally planned summer launch last year before being delayed again into 2024, but it looks like Ubisoft has finally given it a concrete release date: May 21, 2024.
XDefiant will now launch later this month with a six week-long ‘preseason’, which will lead into its first season of content.
XDefiant launches in May with a six-week preseason
Ubisoft’s free-to-play shooter XDefiant is finally launching this month, after a series of lengthy delays in 2023. The game was announced in 2021 as a Tom Clancy title before criticism over its cartoonish visuals and breezy tone caused Ubisoft to rebrand the entire game. The company added factions based on its other existing franchises like Watch Dogs and Far Cry, with more to come down the line. The game attracted acclaim from players and streamers during its closed beta in 2023, with some comparing its fast-paced gameplay to Call of Duty.
Ubisoft then announced that the game would launch sometime in October 2023. However, after a Public Test Session led to the discovery of, “some inconsistencies in the game experience", it was delayed indefinitely. Players haven’t heard much of the game in the months that followed, until now.
This week, Ubisoft announced that XDefiant will launch on May 21 (10 am PT) with a six week-long preseason building up to its first season of content. The preseason will give players access to five game modes, 14 maps, 24 weapons and 44 attachments. These are the maps available at launch:
- Arena
- Attica Heights
- Dumbo
- Echelon HQ
- Emporium
- Liberty
- Mayday
- Meltdown
- Midway
- Nudleplex
- Pueblito
- Showtime
- Times Square
- Zoo
Thankfully, players will also be able to play as every announced faction for the game at launch: Libertad (Far Cry), Cleaners (The Division), DedSec (Watch Dogs), Phantoms (Ghost Recon) and Echelon (Splinter Cell). Once Season 1 launches, new seasons will be introduced every three months with their own battle passes and additional content.
In the game’s first year, Ubisoft promises to deliver an extra four factions, 12 maps, and 12 weapons in total. XDefiant will launch on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
