Ubisoft’s XDefiant has been delayed after being denied certification by PlayStation and Xbox.


The game’s executive producer Mark Rubin updated players in a blog post, writing that Ubisoft submitted the game for certification in July. However, by mid-August, XDefiant received a Not Pass.


“We realised then that we had a lot more work related to compliance than we had anticipated,” Rubin wrote.


He added: “If it HAD passed [emphasis original], then we would have been able to ship at the end of August. But it didn’t, and so we have spent the last three to four weeks fixing those issues and getting ready to do another submission.”


According to Rubin, the free-to-play team-based arena shooter will be resubmitted to first parties in less than two weeks, meaning XDefiant could see a mid-to-end of September release.


However, the more “likely scenario” is the game will receive a conditional Pass, “meaning we have to do a Day One patch with some final fixes to ensure compliance [which] pushes our date out to early/mid-October,” Rubin explained.

First announced in 2021, originally as a Tom Clancy title, XDefiant has been through several betas in recent months. Rubin highlighted that this is why Ubisoft hasn’t announced a “firm release date” for the game.


“Having millions of people play your game long before it’s ready is not normal,” he wrote. “These were real tests and not just marketing events. So, when it comes to when we will release, the real answer is ‘as soon as we can’.”

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