Ubisoft's Highly Anticipated Shooter Devs Frustrated. Rumors of Being Directed to Copy Call of Duty
It's still unclear when online shooter XDefiant will be released. The game's internal delays are allegedly due to Ubisoft's helmsmen pressuring the developers to make the production more similar to the Call of Duty series.
XDefiant is an online shooter that, according to initial reports, was set to be released in August 2023. Later on, it became clear that none of those plans worked out, due to the project not being certified for Sony and Microsoft consoles. Although the devs quickly provided an improved version of the game with the hope that it would be released in September, ultimately this deadline also proved impossible to meet.
Ubisoft's latest financial report did mention that the launch of XDefiant was scheduled for the end of the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2023 (i.e. by March 31, 2024). However, with only a few days remaining until this date, there is no indication that the French studio will meet the deadline for releasing the game.
According to a conversation he had with several anonymous Ubisoft programmers, journalist Tom Henderson allegedly learned that the indefinitely postponed release date of XDefiant and the lack of progress in the game's development were causing considerable frustration in the development team. Interestingly, the main factor influencing the delays and the supposed deteriorating quality of the project is the company's management's desire to copy Call of Duty.
The neverending hunt to chase COD and add pointless stuff always breaks the current build - revealed one of the anonymous sources.
If this is true, it's hard to be surprised by the developers' resentment. The most recent French shooter was quite popular among players during beta tests last year and received many positive reviews. Therefore, the desire of Ubisoft's management to make XDefiant a second Call of Duty seems incomprehensible.
Finally, it's worth noting that Henderson's reports were commented on by Mark Rubin, executive producer of XDefiant. He clarified that the delays aren't a result of implementing new features, but of addressing technical issues (such as fixing bugs, improving network code, and social options). The journalist referred to this with a quote from his text, in which he advises players to be careful - which suggests that he seems confident in the information he has obtained.
