The launch of the upcoming free-to-play shooter XDefiant has been delayed after Ubisoft shared that the title failed to pass certification on both PlayStation and Xbox platforms. The game was due to be released late last month, but following this setback, the new release date will depend on platform holders Sony and Microsoft giving the go-ahead within the next two weeks. If that happens, the release could be set for the end of September. If a day-one update is needed to fix any lingering issues, XDefiant is expected to be released in early October.
In a surprisingly open space blog post Executive Producer Mark Rubin shares details about the pre-release submission process with the community. He revealed that the application process for platform holders is not based on the quality of the game. Rather, it’s about looking for “compliance bugs.” These are flaws in how the title interacts with each console, examples include whether trophies are tracked correctly or whether friends lists are updated with the correct information. . These issues are completely separate from the types of issues consumers notice upon release, such as glitches and slow frame rates. As such, the certification failure does not reflect the quality of his XDefiant as a general experience.
Developers cannot share full details due to NDAs in place, but some Reset era It is very common for most games to fail the first certification application. We are only hearing about this failure publicly because the XDefiant team has chosen to be very open with the community. Game developers are talking about very specific certification requirements that could prevent the game from launching, such as controller button symbols needing to be the exact shape and color. Sometimes it’s as simple as a game not displaying a warning screen before launching the main menu, or not displaying a warning when saving.
Ubisoft is preparing for another certification application and will likely want to release XDefiant as soon as possible. “We know it’s been quite a journey to get to this point, and we want to thank everyone who has joined us along the way,” said Mark Rubin. “I really can’t wait to go live and share my passion and love for XDefiant with you.”