Ubisoft is making some big moves to corner the free-to-play PvP shooter market, with three upcoming Tom Clancy branded games announced. A free-to-play battle royale game fromUbisoft,Hyper Scape,was alsoreleased to little fanfare. Howeverm, the upcoming Tom Clancy games have already attracted a lot of derision. In fact, the one that will be released the soonest and has just finished beta testing,Tom Clancy’s xDefiant,seems to have been largely forgotten about.
Even diehard Tom Clancy fans don’t seem all that excited aboutxDefiant.The two other upcoming free-to-play Tom Clancy games,Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Frontlineand mobile gameTom Clancy’s The Division Heartland,haven’t generated all that much buzz. Still,xDefiantin particular seems to have been overshadowed by other video announcements. The initial reaction toxDefiantreveals the disconnect between Ubisoft and its audience, which has become even more pronounced in the months since.
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xDefiant and Being Out of Touch
The most prominent question that emerged following the announcement ofxDefiantconcerned the target audience, with Ubisoft seemingly trying to attract Tom Clancy,Call of Duty, andOverwatchfans all at once. This mix-match doesn’t work for a variety of reasons, not least of which is thatTom Clancy’s entire brand is a purported sense of realismin his gritty military properties. Some of the best-selling Clancy games are tactical third-person shooters, so a free-to-play arena shooter won’t necessarily attract the same audience.
The name, of course, cannot be ignored.xDefiant wasimmediately mocked across the internet for its name. Reactions to the announcement of the game ridiculed the inclusion of an x in the title to create an ‘xD’ smiley, one which has fallen out of mass use. The reaction to gameplay trailers forxDefiantwas no better, with the colorful, cartoonish aesthetic of the game feeling jarring to long-time Clancy fans. Outside of the Tom Clancy fandom,other shooter fans seemed largely uninterested inxDefiant.In trying to corner so many different markets at once, Ubisoft has forgotten to givexDefiantsomething unique to stand out in a huge market of similar games, with the Tom Clancy branding only confusing people more than anything else.
Tom Clancy’s Legacy
With at leastone movie in the works based on Tom Clancy’s books, his IPs continue to live on for now. In general, Clancy was never that hands-on with the video games associated with his brand, but the reaction toxDefiantis telling. Following the author’s death in 2013, the separation between Clancy himself and the Tom Clancy games is even more pronounced. As such, the games' popularity is independent of Clancy’s, but if Ubisoft fails to keep fans engaged, then the game branch of Clancy’s brand could crumble. Paired with Clancy’s controversial views, which won’t necessarily attract the biggest audience these days, it’s possible the Clancy brand may soon disappear, too.
Whilegames likeSplinter CellandRainbow Six Siegehave been lauded for their innovate gameplay, xDefiantseems like a move in the completely wrong direction for Clancy gaming media. Ultimately,xDefianthas failed to impress for all the reasons listed above - but mostly because it is uninspired. If Ubisoft hopes to salvage the Tom Clancy brand, it will need to return to its roots somewhat. If it does not, it may be time to let the brand go, as although early games garnered loyal fans, the newer titles seem to be what absolutely no one was waiting for.
xDefiantis expected to release fully in late 2021/early 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
