XDefiant defies expectations, will release on May 21st

I hope you’re sitting down for this one, folks. Ubisoft announced today that its highly anticipated free-to-play competitive shooter XDefiant is launching May 21^st for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Ubisoft Connect. Officially labeled as the game’s “preseason”, the launch period will include five game modes, five factions, 14 maps, 24 weapons, and 44 attachments, with more coming in the weeks and months ahead.

An online playtest was held just a couple of weeks ago, but the team at Ubisoft San Francisco is now all systems go for launch, defying some fans (or at least my own) expectations of when it would release. Within the community, there was some discussion that it may not release until August or later. Nevertheless, it will be in our hands in just a few short weeks.

Digging further into what to expect on May 21^st, the game modes will include Domination, Occupy (Hardpoint in Call of Duty terms), HotShot (Kill Confirmed), Zone Control (Rush in Battlefield terms), and Escort (think Overwatch). Meanwhile, included factions are the Libertad from the Far Cry universe, Cleaners from The Division, Echelon from Splinter Cell, DedSec from Watch Dogs, and Phantoms from Ghost Recon.

Looking at the future for XDefiant, Ubisoft already has four seasons of post-launch content planned, each adding a new faction, new weapons, new maps, and new battle passes to the mix. The first season will begin six weeks after launch, with seasons typically lasting three months.

So, there you have it – it’s finally happening. I’ll see you on May 21^st.