The XDefiant Open Beta has sadly come to an end, and while the team is undoubtedly working hard and looking through all the provided feedback, one thing that has somewhat stuck out for us from those who have played it is the stark comparison being made between it, and the Call of Duty franchise. While XDefiant definitely shares plenty of similarities to draw that comparison (not to mention its Executive Producer, Mark Rubin, was the previous EP of the Call of Duty franchise), one thing is certain…and that’s it’s not a “Call of Duty killer” — and that’s okay because it was never trying to be.
Look, I won’t beat around the bush and try and claim that XDefiant didn’t feel like Call of Duty in some ways based on the beta. In fact, Alex (MP1st’s Editor-in-Chief) and I have spoken on several occasions throughout all the past playtests on how XDefiant reminds us of the “classic” Call of Duty. That’s mostly due to the more arcade style of movement when stacking it with the more weighted and “realistic” movement of modern COD, as well as the focus on arena-based maps.
It also is being seen as an alternative because, for those who have been following all the recent Call of Duty drama, with Warzone 1 shutting down, to the NICKMERCS stuff, and Activision seemingly focusing more on battle royale than the traditional 6v6 experience, that made the franchise what it is today, the community is rather shaken up, with some looking for alternatives to play. XDefiant just so happens to be that title many are talking about due to some of the abovementioned reasons and other similarities (like gun customization that acts the same as Call of Duty’s Gunsmith, instant respawn, and more).
Sure, it could be a twitch shooter to rival that of the behemoth franchise, but just because it shares some similarities with Call of Duty doesn’t mean it’s out to kill it. Far from it, as even the game’s own Executive Producer, Mark Rubin wants to move away from this opinion that their game is a Call of Duty killer.
Me too.
— Mark Rubin (@PixelsofMark) June 23, 2023
I think what most need to understand is that the gaming space is massive and has plenty of room for other games to compete. Look at Fortnite, a battle royale that dwarfs many others in its genre, yet plenty can still strive and survive. Apex Legends and Warzone are two examples of that, yet you would never call them “Fortnite” killers just because they’re all battle royales and, to a degree, chase the same audience.
Not every game out there tries to kill its competition because that would likely mean failure. It’s not a metric anyone uses to gauge success because if so, then games like Apex Legends and Warzone might as well just shut down since they’ll likely never reach the player base of Fortnite. That’s just not how that works. Games (and their player bases) can co-exist even if they’re in the same genre and subgenre — which the aforementioned battle royale games have proven throughout the years.
Games of the same genre can exist and flourish without trying to kill one another.
Another reason why XDefiant isn’t a COD Killer, or more accurately, shouldn’t be viewed as one, is because that immediately puts you into a mindset that it’s trying to do just that. There are many different mechanics that XDefiant is trying to deliver, some of which are on the faction/hero side of it and others on the Competitive aspect. But if you go into this thinking of Call of Duty, you sort of gloss over some of those and other things.
I mean, the main similarities are: both offer 6v6 gameplay, fast-paced with respawns instantaneous, movement sort of feels like old Call of Duty games and basically that’s it. The fact that there are former Call of Duty devs working on it doesn’t really make the gameplay similar. The controls are sort of similar only because almost all shooters employ the same control layout. But basically, that’s it.
With the Cod Killer mindset, why focus on what makes XDefiant different when you’re already trying to compare it to Call of Duty? This sets you up for disappointment if something doesn’t live or exceed expectations. That’s not me saying that XDefiant is worse or better than Call of Duty; that’s just me saying to judge the game for what it is, not for what it isn’t.
If you’ve followed the team over at Ubisoft San Francisco, then you’d probably know by now that this is a game that’s trying to be the best at what it wants to be while building a supportive community, ensuring that as much transparency is shared between them, and the studio. It feels like the devs want XDefiant to be the best 6v6 arcade first-person shooter on the market, which happens to be a field dominated by the Call of Duty franchise.
But again, don’t look at this as a challenger set on changing the game. Instead, I like to think that XDefiant will blossom into a suitable alternative to play when I’ve grown bored of COD, and vice versa. In fact, many already do this in the Battle Royale genre, alternating between Apex, Warzone, and Fortnite as the seasons roll out for each. There’s plenty of content between all of them to keep players happy, and even when a season doesn’t interest you, or you’ve done all there is to be done, you may find solace in one of the other games.
XDefiant could be that COD alternative, but don’t get that confused with killer. Games can share similarities, they can be compared, obviously, but it’s clear they aren’t trying to be each other, or beat out one another. No replacements, just potentially a perfect alternative to play when you’re looking for something similar, but also very different.
While we can’t say for certain right this moment whether XDefiant will succeed or not (though the beta did seem like a success given the number of players asking for an extension), if this game does end up flopping for whatever reason, it won’t be because it tried to take on Call of Duty.