The release of the Ubisoft project, XFiend, a free-to-play shooting game led by ex-CoD’s Senior Executive Mark Rubin, is postponed once again. The date for the game’s release, which was initially listed for the end of March, has been postponed indefinitely in connection with a number of unresolved network performance problems. Through social media, the development group explained that the service was not fully ready and they were to have to coordinate for the launch with confidence.
Network optimization leads to launch postponement
There arise the concerns about the launch of XDefiant because there are significant network performance issues that the development team aim to resolve which is also in line with the prior notice of their strong commitment. Apart from the release of new updates, the team still remains optimistic that upcoming network tests will move them towards a launch timeline and as well build the foundation on how post-launch content strategies can be developed.
It was expected that the game would hit the market at last in 2022 and then be deferred to an early 2023 window, but nevertheless, XDefiant has been grappling with persistent issues regarding netcode and connectivity. The developers’ unwavering commitment to have the game’s online servers shouldering the tasks well has been a major cause of the title’s release delay. However, this has also had the positive effect of making sure that when the game does release, a stable, reliable netcode would come with it.
The development stage of XDefiant became more and more turbulent according to reports on creating problematic working culture, where “frat boy culture” became that culture’s most significant characteristic. This has been the ecosystem causing repetitive problems and resulting in late delivery of the game timeframe. Notably, the boxing replicating Call of Duty would have a deleterious effect on vital parts of game development. The latter includes the netcode and connectivity, which would be an issue.
The competitive landscape
Before XDefiant even gets close to the mark of its two years development, the competitive landscape of live-service shooters has gone through a substantial metamorphosis. The giants like Call of Duty and Battlefield prove their intense competitiveness, and new kids on the block Apex Legends and Valorant are quite well heard of, XDefiant might fall behind on the line of its advantageous position because of the hesitation in launching the game.
Nonetheless, it is the future looks promising for the XDefiant player as notably it has been developed by the industry experts. The network test up next would be a pivotal factor to determine the game’s ability to handle the launch well and its stand out factors from other shooter genre titles.
The tough prolongation of development period and its corresponding issue remind us of the fantastic scientific-tackling environment, as well as the competitive age of gaming. If XDefiant does manage to overcome all these difficulties to ultimately attain a successful market, this is not yet confirmed yet. The path of our project underlines the complicacy of game development and therefore shows the significance of building and keeping a good development philosophy for the game.
Focusing on network improvements and addressing internal development culture issues are crucial steps for Ubisoft’s XDefiant as it aims to secure a foothold in the competitive shooter market.
