There’s so much choice when it comes to FPS games these days, but we think XDefiant has a chance to cut through the noise. After The Loadout spent well over 30 hours collectively with the game during its beta phases last year, the game’s delayed launch certainly stung. Like you, we’re eager to dive back in, and a new report claims we should already be playing it right now.
According to Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, there are a lot of factors that have been holding back the XDefiant release date. Henderson alleges that “contract obligations from 2023” are a pain point for the upcoming FPS game. Furthermore, these obligations also “forecasted that the game would already be released [by now].” If Ubisoft had managed to overcome these obstacles, then XDefiant would have gone live in February 2024.
“It was meant to be released in the last week of February and [that’s] why the trophies were accidentally added to the database,” Henderson purports. Not only did the whole roster of XDefiant trophies appear out of thin air, but Ubisoft itself has recently posted a series of rewards centered around the game too. However, there is hope on the horizon. A recent financial report from Ubisoft suggested that XDefiant will drop before the end of March.
According to leaker ‘XD_cLeaRz’, the release date will go right to the wire and fall on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Players will allegedly be able to preload XDefiant from Saturday, March 30, 2024. Additionally, a new trailer is supposedly hidden on the game’s YouTube channel, set to drop around March 19.
There have been theories that all the delays have happened because Ubisoft has been avoiding clashes with rival shooters. Notably, the launch of Modern Warfare 3 in November stuck out, as the new Call of Duty also launched refreshed iterations of COD Zombies and battle royale game spin-off Warzone. Similarly, The Finals dropped in December.
However, it’s become clear that’s not the case. Executive producer Mark Rubin has admitted the game’s push to release has been “aggressive”. In our chat with Rubin last year, we also learned that XDefiant isn’t out to be a ‘Call of Duty killer’ – there’s room for the two to exist. Ubisoft is confident XDefiant’s unique maps and narrative approach are what will entice players to give it a shot.
In other gaming news, flying bugs are now live in Helldivers 2, and the new PS5 update isn’t to be missed if your gaming headset sucks.