Ubisoft Details XDefiant’s In-Game Purchase Philosophy
Ubisoft hopes “to excite and engage our players for years to come” with XDefiant.
XDefiant is just mere days away from launching on major consoles on PC, and Ubisoft’s free-to-play first-person arena shooter project aims to carve its own niche within the live service gaming community. Most notably, the publisher has confirmed that there will be no skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) within its casual playlists, representing a massive change compared to its competition.
Now, Ubisoft has gone a step further to confirm that when XDefiant launches on May 21, it will have no pay-to-win mechanics. The French-based studio hopes to “keep making great content to excite and engage our players for years to come, season after season.” And to do so, it is taking a consumer-first approach.
Anything That Players Can Purchase Can Also Be Unlocked
In a blog post posted to its official website, Ubisoft detailed how it will go about creating an environment that is not pay-to-win. Instead, XDefiant hopes to reward players’ time spent with rewards and challenges that would normally cost real-life money.
First and foremost, Ubisoft notes that “any gameplay impacting content that is purchasable is also unlockable through challenges to ensure fair play amongst our community.” In other words, if you see something in-game, then you can feasibly earn it without having to spend a penny.
As an example, Ubisoft details how the DedSec faction will be purchaseable, but those who don’t wish to spend money will still be able to unlock it. An in-game challenge that will require players to acquire 700,000 XP will be available, thus helping keep paying and non-paying players on equal footing.
XDefiant Wants To Reward Players’ Time
Furthermore, Ubisoft wants to reward time spent in-game, whether a player is winning or losing. The studio notes that, “As you play that one more match, all of your time and energy will work towards unlocking content either through the Battle Pass or challenges.”
Per the blog post, players can expect to earn or complete free battle pass rewards, daily and weekly in-game challenges, Ubisoft Connect challenges, weapon mastery challenges and community participation awards. Simply engaging with the game will be rewarding, no matter a player’s skill level.
With this being Ubisoft’s first major foray into the free-to-play live-service landscape, there will no doubt be some hiccups. But the studio promises to evaluate things over time by listening to player feedback, surveys and in-game data.
While the jury is still out on XDefiant’s long-term viability in a world with Fortnite, Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone, it’s a breath of fresh air to see a studio come out in front of microtransactions.
