After several setbacks, Ubisoft finally launched its FPS XDefiant earlier this year. The game was originally supposed to launch last fall, but various issues pushed it back until this May. Even after taking that extra time to get the shooter up to developer expectations, XDefiant did have issues with its servers in the early days of release. While many of those problems have been ironed out with post-launch updates, some players still feel like the game was “rushed.” It seems strange considering the circumstances of XDefiant’s development, but the game’s executive producer still stepped in to let fans know that the project was not “rushed out.”
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XDefiant executive producer Mark Rubin was asked on Twitter if the team tried to get the shooter out before games like Grand Theft Auto 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 were released. Rubin made it clear that the game was not rushed, which isn’t a surprise for anyone who has been paying attention to the game’s development process. That said, Rubin did delve into a few details about why the developer has been running into issues with XDefiant.
Rubin said, “What we have is an engine that has only ever been an MMO. And so all of the infrastructure for an FPS has had to be built from the ground floor. Even [Call of Duty] started on ID tech which was a shooter engine. Apex [Legends] started on a shooter engine. But for us, we are working on developing all new tech in an engine that was designed for something else. That being said, the engine is really great but it does require a lot of work, and with that work comes a lot of bugs that other engines have already worked out.”
The engine Rubin is referring to is Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine. It was created for Tom Clancy’s The Division, a third-person shooter RPG. It has since been used for Mario+Rabbids, South Park: The Fractured but Whole, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. That proves the engine is versatile, but it is fair to say that making a dedicated FPS is going to come with a few kinks that the developers need to work out. Fortunately, Rubin and his team seem committed to giving XDefiant the time it needs to add features and iron out bugs. Hopefully, that results in a more stable game, especially considering how popular XDefiant has been since its launch.
XDefiant is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
