XDefiant won’t be Pay-to-Win

Ubisoft promises that XDefiant won’t be a pay-to-win game. From the time of this writing, there are only a few days left until the game’s launch. With that in mind, many players are excited to get their hands on the game. However, while there are those hyped for the upcoming first-person shooter, some are concerned about the game’s integrity.

Free-to-play games typically come with a bunch of microtransactions. This is the developers’ way to make their money back and generate profit. But when there are microtransactions, some benefits are sure to follow. One primary example would be Call of Duty Warzone. There was a time when Activision released a paid skin that unintentionally made players camouflage in their surroundings. This resulted in a backlash among fans and flamed the game for implementing pay-to-win mechanics.

Fortunately, Ubisoft is aware of these possibilities and assures its fanbase that there’ll be no pay-to-win items in the game, may it be intentional or not. However, it’s difficult to believe the developers considering the history attached to them. According to reports in 2017, Ubisoft makes more money from microtransactions compared to digital game sales. Having that kind of reputation doesn’t sit well with fans.

Nevertheless, the developers promised that their in-game store would focus mainly on selling character skins, weapon skins, MVP player animations, player cards, and emoji packs.

XDefiant Rewards are Play-to-Earn

When one hears the phrase “play-to-earn”, one could assume that a game is associated with the NFT or Crypto space. In XDefiant, Ubisoft uses the term “play-to-earn” as a way of rewarding players for extended periods of gaming. The developers said that anything a player purchases in the in-game store can also be unlocked by earning XP points. For instance, players can purchase the DedSec faction in Preseason and eventually unlock it through an in-game challenge by acquiring 700k XP.

While this may not sit well with paying customers, the idea is to allow players to enjoy the benefits without having to shell out money. Besides, it’s not like the free-to-play gamers aren’t going to work hard to unlock these items.

Regardless of whether a player catches a winning streak or vice versa, the game will reward them with corresponding XP points which will further their progress in claiming certain rewards. Free-to-play gamers can earn rewards from the following methods:

• Community Participation Rewards like Twitch Drops, giveaways, and in-game events.
• Free Battle Pass Rewards
• In-Game Challenges, both Daily and Weekly
• Ubisoft Connect Challenges
• Weapon Mastery (with regular updates)

If there were hypothetically pay-to-win items in XDefiant, free-to-play gamers would eventually get a hold of these items which would level the playing field.

What to Expect in XDefiant’s Launch

XDefiant is set to release on May 21, 2024. With only a couple of days remaining, one might be wondering what to expect from the game come launch.

Players will have a vast roster of characters from the Ubisoft universe to choose from. These characters are split into five different factions. As mentioned earlier, one of the factions known as DeadSec can either be unlocked through XP or purchased in the in-game shop.

As of the moment, players can expect a total of five game modes to select from. Within those five modes, players will do battle in one of the 14 existing maps. Readers can check our website for more information regarding XDefiant’s launch.