24/04/2023 The XDefiant beta has been extended, though Ubisoft says it currently has no plans to introduce kill streaks. The studio is instead considering a system whereby player abilities are locked until scoring three kills in a row, and ultra abilities are only available after chaining 7 kills.
The Tom Clancy’s XDefiant beta is being extended, giving players a bit longer to play Ubisoft’s series-spanning free-to-play FPS game. The closed beta for potential Call of Duty rival XDefiant, which brings together characters from Tom Clancy games including The Division, Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, and Ghost Recon, has seen big Twitch viewer numbers and a generally positive reaction from players, despite what Ubisoft Executive producer Mark Rubin calls “serious flaws.”
“So the beta hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to in most ways,” Rubin admits, “but in one way it has exceeded our expectations far beyond what we expected and that’s the reaction from you guys!” There has certainly been a lot of positive feedback from players feeling somewhat disillusioned by the year-on-year trudge of Call of Duty into its latest iterations, Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.
Call of Duty sniping expert Jason ‘FaZe Jev’ Eugene is among those expressing his love for XDefiant, who says the game “feels like the old days” of CoD. In particular, he praises the game’s differentiation between more laid-back casual matches and the “ranked, sweaty modes that are even more fun to watch on live streams,” as well as the game’s map design.
“I can say without a shadow of a doubt, every single map on this game – even the worst map – is still better than the best map we’ve had on Call of Duty in the past five years,” Eugene remarks of the game’s already extensive fourteen-map pool.
It’s been far from smooth sailing for XDefiant, though; the closed beta test has been plagued by numerous bugs and issues. Despite this, Rubin says the community’s feedback has been nothing short of stellar. “It’s been incredibly humbling to hear all of your comments.
“Even when things were bad everyone kept positive. Even though we knew we were showing you a game with serious flaws, you still understood what we were trying to do and loved it.”
The XDefiant closed beta will now end on April 25. Previously, it was set to run April 13-23, meaning that there’s a two-day extension on when you’ll be able to play. If you want a chance to join, registration applications are still live on the XDefiant beta registration page. Otherwise, you’ll likely still be able to watch others show off the game on Twitch and YouTube until the beta draws to a close.
If you want more competitive action, take a look at the best multiplayer games on PC right now to see what’s hot. Alternatively, we’ve got a wealth of fantastic free PC games to choose from while you wait for all the biggest upcoming games in 2023.