Ubisoft’s free-to-play FPS title, XDefiant, was announced almost three years ago. Ubisoft dropped the first reveal trailer for the game in July 2021, which featured four factions and was dubbed a Call of Duty killer.
As fans wait for the title to go live, a new update from the Executive Producer of XDefiant, Mark Rubin, has disappointed fans as the game has faced another delay. This isn’t the first time XDefiant has been delayed, and with no clear release date in sight, fans are getting increasingly frustrated after being impressed by earlier beta tests.
XDefiant Fans Are Disappointed and Frustrated Over Yet Another Delay
Executive Producer Mark Rubin took to X to share an update about XDefiant, as the game has now faced yet another delay. Rubin stressed that the team’s doing everything possible to release a near bug-free version, forcing it towards “full system overhauls.”
And that's what the team has been working on. And they are not just minor bug fixes but major infrastructure and full system overhauls. The game remains the same that you played already which we have strived to make as fun as possible which we feel confident about.
— Mark Rubin (@PixelsofMark) March 23, 2024
Fans were understandably disappointed and frustrated at the same time about the repeated delays. Some have attributed it to the studio’s attempts to add more features similar to the ones available in CoD. Rubin has continued to dismiss those claims and stressed that the delay is not related to adding new features but only a result of technical issues.
So we’re delayed… again. Nice.
— JagerSlayz (@JagerHasCurves) March 23, 2024
Addressing the comparisons to Call of Duty titles, Rubin also posted a reply on X that the studio is “aiming at a different time in FPS history. i.e. older COD titles.”
Rubin also admitted that the studio is chasing older CoD titles only “to some degree” but wouldn’t want to end up making the game look anything like the newer ones.
And we've said in the past that we were aiming at a different time in FPS history. i.e. older CoDs. So are we "chasing" older CoDs ? to some degree but we don't want to be like what the newer CoDs are like.
— Mark Rubin (@PixelsofMark) March 24, 2024
Rubin also confirmed that when the game does launch, XDefiant will not have skill-based match-making (SBMM).
XDefiant Will Not Have Call of Duty’s Skill-Based Match-Making
Addressing fans on X, Rubin mentioned he was ready to update on anything that was related to the game. Rubin went on to confirm that the Unranked playlists in the game will have no SBMM, while gamers will have the chance to experience a “variety of gameplay” without the feature.
Rubin also confirmed that Killcams are being worked on and that they are “massively difficult to do.” He mentioned that adding Killcams now would only delay the game even more.
For instance, I can confirm that no push has been made to put SBMM into the game. Our Unranked playlists will still have no SBMM and you will get the variety of gameplay that you see when there isn't SBMM.
— Mark Rubin (@PixelsofMark) March 23, 2024
Rubin did agree with one fan who posted a response saying the developers were trying to capture the “classic and familiar feeling of older COD titles” without trying to include a lot of elements from them.
A well-done bridge in the gap of genres, while keeping its own identity.
Rubin agreed with the fan’s post and mentioned it was “basically our pitch.”
While Rubin has been trying to appease fans as much as possible and keep them informed, they are growing tired of waiting and feel disappointed about still not having a concrete release date. This is after a successful beta test last year, which several fans kept pointing to as they were impressed by it.
Are you hoping to get your hands on the game this year? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
