Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was a commercial success when it launched. However, players have been upset with how it has been rife with microtransactions with Activision taking a step back from its 2019 predecessor. Even with all the negative sentiments, it cannot be denied that Call of Duty is still the leading title first-person shooter genre. But, while this remains true, a new shooter is threatening to usurp it.
Well, a new first-person shooter is coming and players who have tried it out say it can dethrone Call of Duty. XDefiant is still very early in development at Ubisoft but players are already calling it a promising competitor to Call of Duty.
Players have been impressed with the results of the XDefiant closed beta so far with features that Call of Duty players have been asking for with Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.
One player who got into the closed beta said that the game is "addicting and fun". According to Twitter user GTBato_, the game can put some pressure on the FPS market and he hopes that gamers support the title after launch.
Really addicting and fun. I just hope people actually support this game enough that it actually puts some pressure into the FPS market and not be another fad cause we’ve seen this time and time again. People play it and hype it up then completely forget about it quickly.…
— Jose (@GTBato_) April 16, 2023
What can players expect from XDefiant?
XDefiant is a team-based 6v6 first-person shooter and boasts several game modes with varying objectives. It will have a familiar feel to the multiplayer mode of Call of Duty.
In XDefiant, players can choose from factions based on popular Ubisoft video games like The Division, Watch_Dogs, Far Cry, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell.
Each faction has abilities tied to the base games. Splinter Cell characters specialize in stealth while the Cleathers from The Division use flamethrowers. The Watch_Dog faction focuses on hacking devices and Far Cry excel at support and healing. Ghost Recon characters use massive shields and are excellent for holding objectives.
Most of the maps are based on popular locations from the said video games with 14 arenas available at launch. The game also has a battlefield layout similar to the three-lane Call of Duty map design. XDefiant features familiar variants of Call of Duty game modes like Team Deathmatch, Domination, Kill Confirmed, and Hardpoint.
What players are most excited about is the movement in XDefiant. Gameplay is much faster and more fluid than in Modern Warfare 2 and players have already figured out how to do slide canceling during the beta test.
According to early reviews, XDefiant will have both Casual and Ranked game modes with no skill-based matchmaking in its Casual lobbies. However, gamers can expect to play against other players of similar skill levels in the ranked mode. Xdefiant is also letting players use and customize 24 weapons with 44 attachments. Gamers can also use five explosive devices.
Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a while before we get a chance to see XDefiant as a full game. While the early reactions are promising but several others have tried to tango with Call of Duty in the past.
With that said, we're hoping that Ubisoft will continue on its path toward making XDefiant a worthy challenger to Call of Duty. If nothing else, more competition is always better. Who knows? The success of XDefiant might encourage Activision Blizzard to try and reinvent its formulaic approach to Call of Duty.
Gamers who are interested in joining the closed beta can sign up here. The closed beta will run until April 23.
