It was a rocky road to get XDefiant on the market, but Ubisoft finally achieved it in May 2024. Following several delays, the free-to-play shooter was finally introduced to gamers worldwide, and in a matter of days, it had racked up millions of players. However, the inevitable decline began early, with viewership figures dwindling as the initial hype wore off. As we take a closer look at the game’s ecosystem and the following it has garnered on streaming platforms, we’ve got a concern that the esports scene for XDefiant might have already failed.

Speaking to Ubisoft during the BLAST R6 Manchester Major, I learned that there are no plans to introduce esports to XDefiant’s platform until at least 2025. For the esports landscape to surface, new features have to be implemented, such as a private lobby structure and spectator mechanics – but it’s more than that. Currently, it feels as though XDefiant isn’t doing enough to separate it from competing titles and the energy in the game is dying fairly quickly.

Will there be enough left to build up an esports scene by the time 2025 rolls around?

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Standing Apart

XDefiant is a Call of Duty competitor through and through, but aside from the unique ‘faction’ structure in the game and the range of character abilities, it’s not doing enough to separate itself from Activision’s shooter series. The movement mechanics, maps, modes, and combat elements are all far too close to Call of Duty to make a memorable impression, and while it’s fun to play, it’s just ‘a COD alternative’ at the moment.

That means it’ll be tough to overcome Call of Duty as an esports game, and with Ubisoft having such an investment in Rainbow Six Siege, is there enough in the coffers to build up a meaningful esports landscape around XDefiant?

We’ve already seen jokes surfacing that lacklustre Call of Duty competitors should prepare themselves for a career in XDefiant, which isn’t a good start for the reputation of the game. I’ll be honest, I love XDefiant and think it’s a brilliant shooter with some innovative elements but it is missing far too much to be considered a solid competitive game right now. Ubisoft is willing to accept that and say that work needs to be done before the esports scene can launch next year (maybe), but should it have been better designed to accommodate a competitive scene?

The Finals was designed as an esports title and the first tournament for the game is surfacing soon – six months after it was released. Escape from Tarkov: Arena was constructed by Battlestate Games to accommodate an esports ecosystem and it launched alongside a €100,000 tournament. VALORANT was released in June 2020 and in September, Riot Games revealed the first global esports tournament for the game – First Strike.

Groundwork

Ubisoft appears to be bedding in the game before it leaps into a more competitive structure – but is that a mistake? Will the hype for XDefiant come and go before the first esports tournament appears? On Twitch and other streaming platforms, XDefiant’s performance has plummeted in the space of a single month, and it continues to decline. That’s not good news for any new live service game, least of all one with ambitions of becoming an esports title at some point.

Also, we need to consider what organisations will invest in the space. Ubisoft has done a good job nurturing relationships in the Rainbow Six space, but it’s no big secret that it struggled recently with some sizeable departures from the scene. This year’s Six Invitational in Sao Paulo has proven that Ubisoft can host a stunning event, but that’s because Rainbow Six Siege is almost a decade old and has a monumental following – how would XDefiant fare under similar circumstances?

It might be a safer bet to assume that XDefiant will always be a more casual shooter and that any tournaments that surface will be relatively small-time and low-value. It’s important to not set expectations too high at this point, I’d say.

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