XDefiant players worried that ‘CoD killer’ is about to be killed by CoD
The problem with being pitched as the "CoD killer" is that you have to prove yourself pretty quickly or get buried by the weight of your own lofty ambitions. Like Embark Studios' THE FINALS, there were high hopes that Ubisoft's XDefiant could be a real contender for the Call of Duty crown.
Also like THE FINALS, there are concerns that XDefiant won't be able to go the distance, with a wavering player count leading to accusations that the buzzards are already circling. With Black Ops 6 just around the corner, it could be now or never for XDefiant to really prove it can go the distance.
XDefiant player count has some of you worried
As noted by industry advisor Mat Piscatella, XDefiant has dropped from seventh to tenth place in both the Xbox and PlayStation charts. Adding to this, True Trophies adds that it's since slipped to twelfth place in the PS charts, marking a 27.2% player decrease week-on-week. True Achievements confirmed it's also in No. 12 on Xbox.
When Piscatella's findings were shared on Reddit, players quickly took to the comments to support and tear down XDefiant in equal measure. One sceptic wrote, "I personally find the game really fun. But until they rebalance the abilities and most importantly, fix the goddamn netcode. BO6's release will be the killing blow to the player population."
With BO6 looming just over the horizon and looking like a potential return to form, there are obvious worries that XDefiant is about to be eclipsed. Someone else added, "I think BO6 being on Game Pass will especially hurt it for the Xbox (and PC Game Pass) crowd," while another concluded, "Initial hype from streamers/youtubers is fading. I'd put money on the game being semi-dead/dead within 3 months."
Fighting XDefiant's corner, someone said, "Once the cod honeymoon phase wears off you'll all be screamin for another game to play, as usual. Then come November, you'll fall victim to the same vicious cycle.
"X will be here every year while cod pimps their franchise out with microtransactions and manipulated gameplay to bring in numbers. Most long term online games end up being successful at some point. Cod is dying from the inside out, and they are only slowing the inevitable."
Stop the (player) count
Click to enlargeThere's currently no live player count for XDefiant, with someone taking to X (formerly Twitter) to say, "@PlayXDefiant @Ubisoft @UbisoftSupport why do you guys hide the live active player count? I’m seeing a lot of the same people in my lobbies almost every match which leads me to believe the game is pretty much dead, if I’m wrong then release the live player count. #Xdefiant."
Earlier this month, Insider Gaming claimed that XDefiant had an impressive start and peaked at 7.6 million unique users in its first week. It also soared past Call of Duty on the Twitch charts, but given that it was at the start of its lifespan, we'd have been surprised if it hadn't.
Thankfully for XDefiant, Season 1 is just around the corner, hoping to make its mark on July 2. There will be a Rainbow Six-themed faction, a 90-tier battle pass, and three new maps that are sure to see the player count spike. Whether it can go the distance remains to be seen, but with Black Ops 6 snapping at its heels, could CoD kill the CoD killer?
