It’s been a challenging time for Ubisoft’s XDefiant. While a first-person shooter with factions based on popular Ubisoft titles like Splinter Cell, Far Cry, and Watch Dogs sounds like an excellent idea on paper, the game has given its producer Mark Rubin more than a few problems since its May 2024 release.

With a declining player count and a series of baffling changes made to the game, XDefiant has not achieved the levels of success that some of its peers seem to effortlessly sustain. And recent comments regarding a newly released map for the game seem to indicate that its problems are not going away anytime soon.

Are XDefiant’s Linear Modes All but Dead?

XDefiant has had a disappointing few months since it launched earlier this year.
XDefiant has had a disappointing few months since it launched earlier this year.

XDefiant’s turbulent history aside, many players find that the game’s Linear Modes with missions like Escort and Zone Control are not exciting enough to merit their attention. With several other issues like a declining player count seeing long waiting times in match lobbies coupled with players dropping out of matches ruining the fun, the game has not been the Call of Duty killer that Ubisoft was hoping for.

SUGGESTED: XDefiant’s Player Count Dropping Is Nothing but Ubisoft’s Fault, as Fans Pile On

Despite the release of a new map based on the Daytona race track from The Crew 2 being added in a recent update which was made exclusively for Linear Modes, it seems like XDefiant’s player base has largely moved on from the game. It’s a situation that Rubin would certainly find disappointing considering his efforts to keep the game alive.

XDefiant’s Daytona Map Finds Very Few Takers

The Daytona Map has failed to get players excited about the game's Linear Modes.
The Daytona Map has failed to get players excited about the game’s Linear Modes.

Taking to Reddit to express their frustration at long waiting times for matches on the new map, an XDefiant player laments how finding players for the new map has become a challenge in itself.

SUGGESTED: XDefiant’s Finally Getting a Much-Needed Change, but It May Not Be Enough to Solve Its Biggest Issue

Responses to their post below show how poorly players have responded to the new map considering that there are other problems that the game needs to address in order to make it an enjoyable experience that would allow them to choose it over its competitors.

Many players seem to think that Linear Modes which involve point-to-point progression in the game with specific objectives tied to them are not exciting enough to be played on a regular basis considering how monotonous they can get once players have a fixed strategy in place.

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Other players are more forgiving, finding the Daytona map to be a lot more palatable than other progression-focused maps in the game.

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Other players believe that a low player count for XDefiant has created skill gaps that make matches one-sided – which could be a definite mood killer when other players rage quit in the middle of a match.

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While fans of the game would hope that Rubin and his team go back to the drawing board and come up with meaningful changes to make the game live up to its lofty ambitions, it seems that XDefiant must sadly endure some tough times ahead before that happens.