Ubisoft has released an updated year-one roadmap for its free-to-play shooter XDefiant, highlighting key upcoming changes and new content. The blog post also denies reports of XDefiant’s imminent demise, saying that the game is in a healthy state and that Ubisoft has provided the team with additional resources to address some of the larger issues, such as click-to-register.
This blog post first addresses the issues players are having when clicking to register in XDefiant, which isn’t as reliable as some other multiplayer shooters. The simplified explanation given is that currently packets are sent between players twice, but the industry standard is four times. To achieve this, the XDefiant team needed to reduce the size of the packets so they could be sent more times. No specific release date has been given, but the team hopes to make significant progress by the end of season two.
The blog post also denied reports that XDefiant was in trouble at Ubisoft, although it did not directly address some of the claims. Insider Gaming reported in late August that XDefiant’s player base has dropped significantly since launch, and the game could be in danger of shutting down if it doesn’t turn things around in Season 3. The blog post states that “no, gaming is definitely not dead” and reiterates that improving quality of life is a top priority.
This blog post also includes an update roadmap for XDefiant. It reiterates that each season will include three new maps, three new guns, and a new faction, but now it also lists progression changes and quality-of-life changes. Season 2 also features improved player collision and footstep audio, in addition to event challenges and improved Battle Pass progression.
Mark Rubin, executive producer of XDefiant, said on Twitter that the team is still working on the free-for-all and will provide an updated ETA when possible. Rubin also clarified that updates from later seasons will not be retained but are still in the works, such as the reputation system in Season 3.
XDefiant Season 2 will be revealed on September 18, showcasing new factions, highwaymen, and weapons. Ubisoft has recently suffered layoffs and has lost more than 10,000 gaming jobs this year.
