GamesFPSXDefiantXDefiant finally has a release date, and it’s just a couple weeks from nowWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesFPSXDefiantXDefiant finally has a release date, and it’s just a couple weeks from nowWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

It’s been a long time coming, but the big day is finally almost here: Following a weekend-long stress test that ran earlier this month,Ubisoft’s long-awaited free-to-play FPSXDefiantis set to launch on May 21.
The XDefiant launch will begin with a “preseason” that’s slated to run for six weeks with five factions, 14 maps, and five gameplay modes: Domination, Hot Shot, Occupy, Escort, and Zone Control. There will also be a “ranked mode practice playlist,” with 4v4 competitive matches in Domination, Occupy, Escort and Zone Control.
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Once the preseason is done, XDefiant will roll into a “seasonal cadence,” with new weapons, maps, events, and a new faction planned to be added every three months. This is what the year one roadmap looks like:
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

The goofy name and overall vibe set initial expectations low, but beta tests in 2023 fired hopes that it might actually be, well,good. Some of that arises with dissatisfaction with the current state of the online shooter scene, but former Call of Duty creative strategist Robert Bowling described XDefiant onTwitteras “a refinement” of what CoD used to do so well back in the original Modern Warfare era. “COD made a choice to move away from its roots and origins, its expanded to be an ‘everything shooter,'” Bowlingtweeted. “XDefiant knows what it is and does it well.” PC Gamer editorsTyler WildeandMorgan Parkenjoyed their time with it too.
Whether XDefiant has the juice to find an enduring place among shooter fans is an open question, but Ubisoft has had some luck quietly filling those niches: Rainbow Six Siege is the obvious example, but For Honor and The Division 2 are also ticking along nicely, years after launch.
XDefiant will be available on PC from theUbisoft Store.
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