Since Ubisoft announcedTom Clancy’s XDefiantin mid-2022 and held a closed playtest shortly thereafter, there’s been little information shared about the project. While the initial response to the competitive FPS was certainly mixed, the success ofTom Clancy’s The DivisionandTom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siegeshowed the potential ofUbisoft’s online offerings. Ubisoft appears to have pivoted with the project, however, including separating it from theTom Clancyfranchise branding.In an update released by Ubisoft this past week, the first since October 2021, the developer announced plans to begin what it callsXDefiantInsider Sessions. These are, in practice, a series of closed testing sessions allowing Ubisoft to collect feedback regarding the state of the game. Perhaps more importantly, Ubisoft clarifies that going forward the “Tom Clancy’s” part ofXDefiant’s name is being dropped. The game will now be referred to only asXDefiant.RELATED:Ubisoft’s XDefiant Appears to be Repeating Ghost Recon Breakpoint’s Biggest MistakeFor those worried whether this meansXDefiantwill be completely divorced from the Tom Clancy universe, that’s not entirely true.XDefiantitself may not be aTom Clancygame, but it will still featureTom Clancycontent as it’ll be a place where crossover factions meet in battle. While it isn’t clear if previously announced content will be retained,XDefiantpreviously revealed factions from Ubisoft games includingGhost Recon,Splinter Cell, andThe Division.
To explain why it made this decision, Ubisoft says that plans forXDefiantnow include introducing Factions from other games separate from theTom Clancyuniverse. No other games, let alone factions, are mentioned, but it’s easy to imagine what Ubisoft is talking about. It could cross over with other majorUbisoft franchises likeAssassin’s Creed,Watch Dogs,Call of Juarez, or evenMight and MagicandRayman. It would allowXDefiantthe ability to get very weird, which could help it stand out.
Returning toXDefiant’s Insider Sessions, interested Ubisoft fans shouldn’t expect to hear much in the way of new information even after the tests start. Ubisoft confirmed that theXDefiantplaytestswill remain under NDA for the foreseeable future as it continues to collect feedback.
The situation is admittedly strange. While the reception toXDefiantwas admittedly not as hype as Ubisoft would have liked, the silence surrounding the project following its announcement is atypical, to say the least. It’s unclear ifXDefiantlooks or plays like what was first announced, as Ubisoft has removed its early marketing material from its official website. Still, ifXDefiantis being playtested, perhaps that means a public re-unveiling isn’t too far off.
XDefiantis in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
