XDefiant servers run into big matchmaking problems on launch day

XDefiant servers run into big matchmaking problems on launch day

Gaming Editor (US)
     

    XDefiant, Ubisoft’s free-to-play arena shooter, launched on Tuesday for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, and almost immediately ran into matchmaking troubles, a Ubisoft producer confirmed via X.

    Executive producer Mark Rubin said “Matchmaking servers go boom!” quickly adding his development team was working on fixing the problem. The game’s official X account likewise said matchmaking was having trouble, with players responding in the thread with screenshots of empty lobbies and players “unable to find match.”

    As of 5 p.m. EDT on Tuesday the XDefiant account still had not confirmed that a fix had been made, though it did say some progress had been made. An XDefiant news site, meanwhile, started giving out battle passes in the game to X followers while everyone waited on a fix.

    It’s an especially bad look for a game that is multiplayer-only and, obviously, depends on matchmaking in order to draw and maintain an audience.

    What is XDefiant?

    XDefiant is a 6v6 shooter whose characters are drawn from across Ubisoft’s many intellectual properties. It was first due to launch in October 2023, but the publisher then delayed it indefinitely before saying it expected to launch it in March. That got delayed again until May 21.

    The game makes references to the Ghost Recon, Watch Dogs, and Tom Clancy’s The Division series, as well as Far Cry 6, the most recent game in that series (launching in 2022). Watch Dogs, however, is rumored to be on ice after a dismal sales performance from Watch Dogs: Legion in 2021, and The Division: Heartland, another free-to-play shooter announced in 2020, was cancelled outright.

    Ubisoft said it shut down Heartland in order to focus more resources on XDefiant; Tom Clancy’s The Division 3, announced in September 2023, is still in development.

    For more on XDefiant, see our comprehensive guide containing everything we know about the game.

    The post XDefiant servers run into big matchmaking problems on launch day appeared first on ReadWrite.

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    Owen Good

    Gaming Editor (US)

    Owen Good is a 15-year veteran of video games writing, also covering pop culture and entertainment subjects for the likes of Kotaku and Polygon. He is a Gaming Editor for ReadWrite working from his home in North Carolina, the United States, joining this publication in April, 2024. Good is a 1995 graduate of North Carolina State University and a 2000 graduate of The Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, in New York. A second-generation newspaperman, Good’s career before covering video games included daily newspaper stints in North Carolina; in upstate New York; in Washington, D.C., with the Associated Press; and…

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