Ubisoft's Indefinite Postponement of CoD-Like Game Due to 'Inherent Issues'

 

Ubisoft's Indefinite Postponement of CoD-Like Game Due to 'Inherent Issues'

Ubisoft made an announcement on October 9, revealing an indefinite delay for the preseason of XDefiant, a game often compared to the popular Call of Duty series. This adds to a growing list of challenges that have been plaguing the development and release of this free-to-play arena shooter.

The journey of XDefiant has been riddled with setbacks. Initially introduced in 2021 as a somewhat unexpected addition to the Tom Clancy franchise, the game faced its first major delay in September. This delay was attributed to failed quality control tests on consoles. Game director Mark Rubin shared in a blog post on September 11 that they had begun compliance testing in July and received an initial "Not Pass" result by mid-August. They had hoped for a conditional pass, which would necessitate a Day 1 patch to fix any remaining issues, but this pushed their release date to early/mid-October.

Unfortunately, this release window has now become unfeasible due to the results of XDefiant's public test sessions held from September 28 to 29. These test sessions uncovered issues that prompted Ubisoft to delay the planned six-week preseason, which was supposed to introduce new maps, weapons, and "faction" teams based on other Ubisoft universes, such as The Division.

In a post on October 9, Ubisoft explained, "The test sessions surfaced some inconsistencies in the game experience that we need to address prior to launching our Preseason. So we've made the hard decision to delay the Preseason of XDefiant." They assured players that their team would continue working diligently to address these issues and achieve their goal of delivering a top-notch arcade shooter. Ubisoft did not specify a new release window but promised to provide updates as soon as they became available. Despite reaching out to Ubisoft for more information on the "inconsistencies" faced by XDefiant, no response was received by the time of publication.

While XDefiant still lists "summer 2023" as its release date on its website, it remains to be seen whether this prolonged wait will be worth it. During the game's open beta in June, Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen noted that XDefiant seems tailored for those who enjoyed the fast-paced combat of mid-2000s Call of Duty games. This nostalgic approach to first-person shooting could hold promise, but it's clear that XDefiant has some critical issues to address before it can make its mark in the gaming world.