XDefiant, Ubisoft’s Free-To-Play FPS, Is Getting Cross-Play Test Soon

gamerant.com:

After months of silence regarding its upcoming online shooter XDefiant, Ubisoft San Francisco has provided new details about an upcoming cross-play test for the free-to-play title. Originally titled Tom Clancy’s XDefiant, Tom Clancy’s name was dropped from XDefiant after the game’s developers went silent following a closed playtest in 2021.

Developed by Ubisoft San Francisco, XDefiant was revealed in 2021 and was set to bring together characters from across Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy universe of games into a fast-paced arena shooter. Early gameplay trailers showed a title that drew heavy inspiration from Blizzard’s mega-hit Overwatch and featured playable factions drawn from The Division, Splinter Cell, and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. News about the IP-mixing free-to-play shooter dried up following a closed playtest of XDefiant and the removal of the Tom Clancy branding from the title, leaving some gamers to wonder if the game would ever see the light of day.

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Following months of silence about the free-to-play shooter, Ubisoft San Francisco has announced that a Cross-Play Insider Session for XDefiant will be held later this month. Taking place from February 16 until the morning of February 20, the test will let players enjoy online matches across the Escort, Zone Control, Domination, and Occupy game modes. While the game no longer features Tom Clancy branding, one detail of the playtest makes it clear that other popular Ubisoft franchises will still play a prominent role in the game. After explaining the point of the playtest, the announcement states that the cross-play session will feature a new map, Pueblito, set on the tropical island of Yara from Far Cry 6.

The Ubisoft announcement