Today, Ubisoft debuted the newest Tom Clancy game to the world via a special announcement video. It's going to be a free-to-play, multiplayer first person arena shooter, called Tom Clancy's XDefiant.
XDefiant is being headed up by Ubisoft San Francisco. Creative director Jason Schroeder and executive producer Mark Rubin described the game as "fast-paced fire fights meets a punk rock mosh pit." Like its peers in the genre, XDefiant is going to be a live-service game, and Rubin assured in the video that the team is dedicated to keeping the game alive for years to come, with additional factions, maps, and modes coming down the road.
Though they're entering an already crowded field of online shooters, it seems the development team have already been looking for ways to set this game apart. Players will have the standard classes we're accustomed to in these kinds of games, like tank, support, and healer. But these classes are each tied to one of the game's four (for now) specific factions. Tanks belong to the Wolves faction, assault characters correspond to the Cleaners, support characters are associated with the Echelon, and healers belong to the Outcasts. Each faction is based on "maverick" groups from the other Clancyverse games. The Wolves, for example, are based on the group from Ghost Recon.
These characters, like their counterparts in other such games, each have their own passive abilities and an ultimate, or ultra ability. Beyond that, both factions and individual loadouts are customizable, so players should be able to create the perfect kit for how they want to play. Instead of standard abilities that come equipped to a specific character (or Defiant, in the game's terms), players can equip the powers they want depending on the match. Within your faction, you're also able to choose your own Defiant, so you'll have a character of your own as well.
PC players in the US and Canada who want to check out XDefiant as soon as possible can register for a chance to play the game early. The first closed test will start August 5. During the closed test, 10 maps will be available in total: seven arena maps, and three linear maps. Arena maps will have three modes: Domination, Ring Leader, and Upload. The linear maps will have two modes: Escort and Zone Control.
