Insider: development of online shooter XDefiant has stalled due to Call of Duty copycatting and Ubisoft's rejection of its own ideas

For several years the gaming community has been watching the development of Ubisoft's free-to-play online shooter XDefiant.

Its release was repeatedly postponed under various pretexts, from "developers' striving for perfection" to delaying certification by Sony and Microsoft.

Apparently, the development of the game did not go according to the plan and the authoritative insider Tom Henderson decided to sort out the situation.

Here's What We Know

Henderson talked to Ubisoft employees and said that the development of XDefiant is not cancelled and continues in normal mode, but the production process is somewhat hampered by a number of factors.

The main reason why XDefiant is not out yet is the developers' desire to copy the concept of the Call of Duty games. Instead of creating something unique, Ubisoft's management forces their subordinates to add unnecessary elements to the game time after time to make it more similar to Activision's shooter. This approach not only affects the creative vision and loses the individuality of the game, but also spoils the overall technical state of XDefiant.

The fixation on Call of Duty is not Ubisoft's only flaw, managers and directors can't clearly articulate what they want from the game, and the developers are the ones to blame.

Ubisoft's latest report says that XDefiant will be out by 31 March 2024, but the said date is less than a week away and there is nothing to indicate that its release will happen on time.

XDefiant producer Mark Rubin has reacted to Tom Henderson's article and refuted everything it says. According to him, the delay in XDefiant's release is purely due to technical and organisational issues. He admitted that Ubisoft really did not share news about the shooter for a long time, but perhaps as early as next week gamers will be given some details.

Slowly, the development story of XDefiant is starting to resemble Skull and Bones. We hope that the online shooter will not share the fate of the failed pirate action game.

Source: Insider Gaming