“There are still some improvements that we need to test”
XDefiant, thefree-to-playarena-shooter- a laApex Legends,Overwatch 2,Valorantor the multiplayer team-based game of your choice - built around classes and factions from across the Ubisoft universe games fromSplinter CellandFar CrytoGhost ReconandWatch Dogs, has been delayed. Originally outlined for a launch before the end of March - you’ll note that we’re now in April - the upcoming FPS will apparently now decide a release date after an upcoming stress test for its servers.
Originally revealed with unique classes cropped from Clancy games likeThe DivisionandSplinter Cell, offering different active powers, passive effects and weapons like the roster of other hero shooters, by the time Ollie spent a couple of hours with it last year it had also added Watch Dogs hackers Deadsec and Far Cry’s Libertad to its starting line-up of five Defiants. They’ll go head-to-head across a variety of maps and modes, from traditional team deathmatches to yourOverwatch-style escort missions.
The shooter’s preseason was originally expected to arrive last October,before being delayedwhile its team looked to address some “inconsistencies” after a public test session. While its developers didn’t give a revised release date at the time, Ubisoft’sfinancial update in Februarysuggested XDefiant would be out during its financial fourth quarter - which ran until the end of March.
It’s now April, and XDefiant is still yet to show - something that its developers acknowledged in a post confirming that the game had been delayed once again, saying: “There are still some improvements that we need to test.”
Update on XDefiant-pic.twitter.com/kVBt9GlQvn
Those improvements will seemingly be tested during an upcoming server test session across PC and consoles. The test will only run for a brief 12 hours, and is aimed at stress-testing servers and collecting “critical data” the team say is needed before launch.
The server test is yet to be given a date, but XDefiant’s team say that after the test is over they will be able to “lock a launch date” - hopefully for the last time, this time.
Ollie wasleft fairly mixed during a two-hour preview last year, finding XDefiant to be a perfectly serviceable shooter, but lacking that special something to mark it out in the crowded genre: “That’s the trouble with XDefiant. There’s really not much to grab onto and think,thisright here is the game’s identity.
“XDefiant actually feels quite good to play. The gunplay was decent. The movement was serviceable. The matches were fast-paced, and the kills were satisfying. I had fun! But when I stopped and thought things over, I realised it’s the fun I could have with any other shooter out there.”
