Ubisoft reveals XDefiant, a free-to-play multiplayer shooter

After a brief tease, Ubisoft has officially revealed what the next Tom Clancy game is and what it is all about.


XDefiant is the latest Tom Clancy game to come from Ubisoft.
XDefiant is the latest Tom Clancy game to come from Ubisoft.

Ubisoft's Tom Clancy games started as shooters based on the famous spy novels, but the French video game company has expanded the games' various premises in recent years.

While some of the more recent entries continue the modern and near-future militaristic settings, Ubisoft has explored other venues as well. Case in point, Rainbow Six Extraction. After the success of the limited-time event in Rainbow Six Siege, Outbreak, Ubisoft made an entire game out of it, telling the story of how a team of three attempts to fight back against what looks like an alien threat.

Now, Ubisoft is taking cues from another shooter to create a new Tom Clancy game.

From Project BattleCat to XDefiant

XDefiant looks like a mash up of previous Tom Clancy games by Ubisoft made in the same mold of Overwatch.
XDefiant looks like a mash-up of previous Tom Clancy games by Ubisoft made in the same mold of Overwatch.

In June, rumors of a new Tom Clancy game circulated. Leakers claimed that Ubisoft was working on a first-person multiplayer shooter that would have brought together factors from Splinter Cell, The Division, and Ghost Recon in a game that worked very similarly to Blizzard's hero-shooter, Overwatch.

Fast forward to today and the said rumors, which were speculated to go under the name of Project BattleCat, have been confirmed.

Just a day after Ubisoft teased the new Tom Clancy game, we now have information about its name and what it is all about.

The new FPS title will be called XDefiant and is currently in development at Ubisoft San Francisco. It is a free-to-play title that will pit two teams composed of six players each with four different factions to choose from: the Outcasts and Cleaners from The Division, Echelon from Splinter cell, and the Wolves from Ghost Recon.

For now, players can only choose from these four factions, which will come with their own distinct set of abilities and skills that players can personalize.

The official reveal trailer for XDefiant highlights two game modes: Escort and Domination.

According to Ubisoft, XDefiant will come with a vast pool of unique and distinct maps that players can choose from to make each match feel different. What's more interested players won't have to wait too long to find out how XDefiant will play like. The main XDefiant website details a beta test that's open for registration and will kick off on August 5.

Judging by the overall positive reception, it's safe to say that Ubisoft's plan to divert attention from the delay of Rainbow Six Extraction is a success.

As for when XDefiant will release, Ubisoft has no planned release date for the game just yet. It seems like they are taking the safe approach this time, having learned much from the failed launches of The Division and Siege. The studio wants to use player feedback to make sure that the game is a success right from the start.


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Ray Ampoloquio

Ray Ampoloquio // Articles: 5853

Ray is a lifelong gamer with a nose for keeping up with the latest news in and out of the gaming industry. When he's not reading, writing, editing, and playing video games, he builds and repairs computers in his spare time. You can find Ray on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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