It is almost November and XDefiant is nowhere to be seen. The free-to-play shooter has hosted multiple betas throughout 2023 with some random one-day server tests too. However, Ubisoft has yet to get the game launched across PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
The company provided an update in August saying that the XDefiant console certification failed across both Xbox and PlayStation. As a result, the team had to rework a number of features and submit it for approval again.
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Soon after that was done, Ubisoft confirmed that XDefiant would be delayed indefinitely while the console certification was in process. This is after the studio hoped to release the game while issuing an update on the release build in order to implement the issues which prevented the console certification.
But never fear because Ubisoft still aims to release XDefiant before the end of March 2024. While this is a stretch given that March 2024 is still a few months away, the studio says it is part of its current fiscal year launch plans.
Another game which has been through the wringer and delayed more times than I can count is Skull and Bones. The open-world naval multiplayer pirate was originally meant to be released in 2023 and 2022. However, Ubisoft delayed Skull and Bones quite suddenly in late 2022 just a few weeks before its launch.
The studio has since hosted a number of betas for the game. Many of which have been very small and region-limited. According to the company’s most recent earnings report, Skull and Bones is also set to launch before the end of March 2024.
The lineup for the remainder of the fiscal year includes, on the premium side, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™, Just Dance® 2024 edition, Prince of Persia The Lost Crown and Skull and Bones™, which is set to release during Q4 2023-24. On the free-to-play side, Rainbow Six® Mobile, The Division® Resurgence and XDefiant will also launch later this fiscal year.
At the moment it doesn’t look like Ubisoft will release Skull and Bones before the end of this year. With the festive season literally around the corner, a release of that scale is a bit too big to roll out. However, XDefiant, on the other hand, might just get shadow-dropped before December. We hope….
Ubisoft is gearing up to launch Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora on 7 December. That game is on track.
Source: Ubisoft Earnings Report
