XDefiant’s launch day experienced a rough series of server issues, but that didn’t get in the way of a landmark achievement for Ubisoft.
Insider Gaming reported that XDefiant brought in one million unique players within two and a half hours of its launch, which is remarkable given the unfortunate server circumstances. When the new free-to-play title went live, matchmaking issues prevented players from consistently finding matches for several hours. Even so, the the slip-up didn’t result in a loss of interest, and Ubisoft may have a hit on its hands. Insider Gaming added that after 48 hours, XDefiant has over three million unique players and around 300,000 concurrent players, including a peak concurrent player count of 500,000.
For the cherry on top, the report claims that XDefiant became Ubisoft’s fastest title to reach one million unique players. It certainly helps that the arena shooter is free-to-play. However, it’s safe to say that this is still a resounding success story, given the project’s turbulent development period, which included several delays.
As for what’s next, Ubisoft has plans to keep players invested long-term. After a six week preseason period, XDefiant will receive a new seasonal update every three months. Over the course of the title’s first year, there will be four factions, 12 weapons, and 12 new maps added. In addition, the devs plan on adding a Ranked Play game mode, private matches, and other new game modes.
This is all in addition to the 14 maps, five maps, five factions, and 24 weapons XDefiant launched with. Players have raised issues with a few problems, such as the title’s “criminally slow” weapon progression, but reception has overall been positive. In saying that, Ubisoft will have its hands full retaining interest, as Treyarch recently pushed to steal back the spotlight after releasing a series of teasers for the upcoming Call of Duty title, Black Ops 6.
