With each new generation of games, there are usually a few genres that stand out above the rest. It’s generally game developers that try to capitalize on a popular trend by putting their own stamp on it and, in some cases, redefining how it’s seen. Battle royales and class-based shooters are the two most popular genres these days.
So when Ubisoft began teasing a new entry in their popular Tom Clancy brand with a small teaser from IGN, it was clear which path they were heading in. They were attempting to enter the class-based shooter ring. They announced Tom Clancy’s XDefiant on Monday, a game that will take elements from previous Tom Clancy games to create factions that will compete against one another while completing tasks. This is standard fare for a class shooter. However, the clip made it clear that this is a game that would stress the shooting aspect of their shooter, so we should expect a strong focus on gameplay. The following are the game modes that will be featured:
Defiant Personalization: Players can customize their Defiant to fit their playstyle. Players can pick a group with its own traits, abilities, and powers, then customize their loadout with a variety of primary and secondary weapons, attachments, and a device – and even adjust it on the fly (after respawning) to adapt to the ever-changing battlefield.
Competitive Clashes: Domination and Escort are two competitive 6-v-6 arena and linear game variants. This will also include a big pool of custom-designed maps that will be rotated to ensure that no two matches are the same.
XDefiant will feature groups such as the Wolves (Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon), Echelon (Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell), and the Outcasts and Cleaners (Tom Clancy’s The Division) battling throughout legendary locations at first. As the game progresses, more Defiants will be added, drawing on a variety of characters and skills from the Tom Clancy universe and possibly beyond. Maybe any more Ubisoft franchises will make an appearance?
Because class-based shooters often go one of two ways, the creators in the video were correct to emphasize the shooting part of their game. They can either go the Overwatch approach and give everyone weird powers, or they can go the Apex Legends route and make the game about who can use their firearms better. This game appears to be more like the latter, but it may have some unique features that distinguish it from other Apex clones. For starters, the factions from earlier Tom Clancy games are all extremely different, and this sounds like an opportunity to do something very strange with the classes. If Ubisoft embraces the strangeness, they may have a winner on their hands.
It’ll be fascinating to see where they go with this game after it launches. Many of these games aspire to be the next big esport and place a strong emphasis on competitive modes, and based on the trailer’s emphasis on shooting, it appears like this one will as well. If that’s the path they’re going, they’ll have to make sure that the game’s distinctive features actually stand out.
