A recent report suggesting that the delay of XDefiant is due to attempts to emulate Call of Duty has been refuted by a Ubisoft executive, who also provided an update on the game’s status.
Since its initial announcement in July 2021 as Tom Clancy’s XDefiant, later rebranded to XDefiant in May 2022, Ubisoft’s free-to-play shooter has undergone multiple beta tests but has faced delays in hitting release date targets.
Initially aiming for release by the end of the fiscal year on March 31, the game now seems unlikely to meet that deadline.
Following a report from Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson on March 23, alleging that XDefiant’s troubled development was partly due to Ubisoft’s desire to incorporate elements from Call of Duty, XDefiant director and producer Mark Rubin denied these claims.
"In truth, if you’re a fan of XDefiant, I would be a little more wary in the future of the whole ‘open transparency’ thing — as it usually has bigger implications and doesn’t reflect what’s truly going on." https://t.co/fs7Iu9l5ch
— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) March 23, 2024
He dismissed the suggestion, calling it a “major eyeroll [sic].”
Despite Rubin’s denial, Henderson stood by his report, emphasizing that official status updates might not fully represent the game’s development status.
Concerns about XDefiant mimicking Call of Duty had been raised by fans previously due to the introduction of similar features.
In response to fan inquiries, Rubin explained that the recent silence from developers was due to focusing on critical bug fixes and revamping the game’s social system, rather than introducing new features.
XDefiant dev shuts down claims Ubisoft is copying Call of Duty
byu/Sea_Wear_7006 ingamingnews
He assured that these efforts were nearing completion and hinted at an imminent detailed update from Ubisoft San Francisco, likely to be shared by the end of March.
Reactions to Henderson’s report and Rubin’s comments have been mixed, with some expressing frustration at the game’s delays while others prioritize a polished final product over early access.
Despite the challenges in development, XDefiant remains highly anticipated among fans of free-to-play games.
