Ubisoft’s free-to-play shooter XDefiant delayed due to console certification issues

XDefiant, the Tom-Clancy-adjacent free-to-play shooter from Ubisoft, has been delayed out of its previously planned summer window, with the publisher blaming certification issues on Xbox and PlayStation for the game’s slip into what’s now “likely” to be an October release.

XDefiant – a 6v6 mash-up of Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and The Division initially announced as Tom Clancy’s XDefiant back in 2021 before dropping its prefix – has had a number of closed Insider tests and open sessions throughout its development and was expected to get its full launch for PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC some time this summer.

However, writing in a post on Ubisoft’s website, XDefiant executive producer Mark Rubin explained the game’s continuing lack of a release date can largely be blamed on complication arising during Microsoft and Sony’s certification processes for their respective consoles.

“At the end of July, we started this process, and we got our first results back by mid-August which was a Not Pass,” Rubin revealed. “We realised then that we had more work related to compliance than we had anticipated. If it HAD passed, then we would have been able to ship at the end of Aug. But it didn’t and so we have spent the last 3-4 weeks fixing those issues and getting ready to do another submission.”

Rubin added that a number of scenarios are possible after XDefiant is resubmitted within the next two weeks; if it “Passes cleanly”, the game “could be looking at a mid-to-end of September release”, but a “likely…conditional Pass” would mean a Day 1 patch with some final fixes to ensure compliance. That would push XDefiant’s release to early/mid-October.

“I know it’s been quite a journey to get to this point and I want to thank every single person that has joined us along the way,” Rubin concluded. “We really can’t wait to go live and share our passion and love for XDefiant with everyone. Hope to see you all soon in game!”