Ubisoft presents its free-to-play multiplayer arena FPS

Here’s one we don’t see coming. This Monday and after a short time Teasing The day before, Ubisoft San Francisco revealed its new project on social networks. Tom Clancy’s XDefiant, a multiplayer FPS in play for free, has been in development for over a year. The studio showed and commented on the first pictures of Style of play of the game through two videos published on his YouTube channel.

Factions and Arms, Tom Clancy’s Legacy

It therefore becomes a Sagittarius in the first person with “fractions” that resulted from the last successes of the license Tom Clancythat actually represent different classes. The “wolves” of Ghost Recon Breakpoint will act as a tank, with more health than the others and skills based on the use of shields. Straight from The corporate division, “Cleaners” and their flamethrowers will be DPS on duty, while “Outcasts” will be healers. After all, the “Echelon” faction will want to be much more secretive, as is tradition in the. is Faction. It will serve as a support to provide allies with information and prevent opponents from obtaining it.
Of course, the presence of these various groups and their iconic devices is one XDefiant

in the slightly futuristic universe of his cousins.

To equip all this little world the diverse and highly customizable arsenal that spices up games Tom Clancy will of course be there. Those in the know will recognize some emblematic weapons in the video. The very urban environments will also create some memories with the artistic touch of open worlds of the franchise. But here tight maps, rich in blind spots and bottlenecks, will favor hand-to-hand combat. These will obviously be numerous: the studio already reminds of the existence of more than ten levels, some in the form of arenas, others more linearly to adapt to the different game modes offered.

Ubisoft enters the arena of free-to-play multiplayer battles

Indeed, once the setting and the protagonists are known, the action is unprecedented. Ubisoft brings along XDefiant a nervous FPS, far from the meticulousness that was introduced from the start Rainbow Six and Ghost recon, about twenty years ago. Especially since the game, like a Overwatch which it seems to borrow heavily will allow players to watch their character die without being too punished. Here the formula of the arena fighting game takes precedence, and the respawn so will be possible. As a bonus there is the possibility to change not only the avatar and thus the class, but also the equipment. The various announced game modes also confirm the inspirations, with objectives of conquering or defending territories, escort … The influence of the Blizzard shooter is very palpable.

The other novelty arises from the economic mode of the title. For the first time in its history, the license will be available alongside mobile games Tom Clancy

is equipped with a game in play for free. But that’s no surprise: by making XDefiant a real “Game as a service“Ubisoft is completing a journey that spans nearly a decade. Indeed, Rainbow Six Siege, released in 2015 but developed from 2012, was the first to use a Loot boxes in the franchise, then taken over by The corporate division (2016) and its continuation (2019) as well as by Ghost Recon Wildlands (2017) and Ghost Recon Breakpoint (2019). Rainbow Six extraction, recently postponed to the beginning of 2022, will probably not escape the rule. However, these microtransactions only ever affected cosmetic items, and the two newcomers should logically go the same way.

Broad ambitions for a large audience

This initial gratuity from the title is easy to explain. In the second video from Ubisoft, Developers say they want to target the broadest possible audienceby focusing primarily on the less experienced people. Nothing could be more natural in a market that has already been conquered by Overwatch

of which we talked above, but also Appreciation, a newcomer certainly recent, but he knew how to assert himself. The page play for free will inevitably appeal to the game’s release, but it will be up to the studio to keep it alive by maintaining constant interest and challenge. The players who reach a high level are not left out. The competitive aspect is mentioned several times in the presentation, a sign that the designers certainly want to see their project as the new flagship of esports, as it has become siege.

To make sure it’s going in the right direction, Ubisoft is also planning one Early test closed next month, initially reserved for the American public on the PC, via a registration system. The mere fact that the medium is so specified suggests that the title is well carried on home consoles without us having any more precision on the subject at the moment.

As we pick up on some of the codes from previous titles in the Tom Clancy universe, XDefiant, through its formula, promises to be a great novelty for Ubisoft. By subscribing to a logic play for free, it is openness to the greatest number that is clearly targeted. However, we will have to wait for the first feedback from players to know whether the sauce will last or not. For now, it is certain that the multiplayer FPS will arrive on PC, and its presence on Xbox is very likely without being formalized yet.

Below is the second video presentation with the interview of the producers (in English):