Reports are coming in that Ubisoft's latest free-to-play online multiplayer shooter XDefiant has skyrocketed to nearly 8 million unique players in its first week since launch. Not bad for a launch that has been mired in issues.
According to Insider Gaming, XDefiant recently broke the 8 million unique player mark in its first week since launching on May 21st, 2024. "Unique player" is defined here as someone who fully downloaded the game and opened it for the first time since the download.
Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean they actually played the game, let alone are consistently playing it to this day. But given that Ubisoft's internal goal was to reach 5 million unique players within the first month since launch – 8 million in the first week is all the more impressive.
The news follows earlier reports that XDefiant even managed to hit a whopping 1 million unique players merely 2.5 hours after it first launched on May 21st, 2024. This milestone makes the game the fastest Ubisoft title to ever reach such a number. Naturally, 48 hours after the game's launch, that number increased to an even more impressive 3 million unique players.
Ubisoft needs to address issues to keep XDefiant concurrent player count up
As I briefly hinted at earlier, while 8 million unique players is certainly an impressive feat – this does not always translate to 8 million concurrent players (i.e. gamers who are consistently coming back to the game and playing it on a near-daily or at least weekly basis).
Insider Gaming reports that on Monday, May 27th, 2024, XDefiant boasted a (still notable) concurrent player count of 700,000. And though this is no number to scoff at, Ubisoft desperately needs to address several core issues with the game to keep this number up and growing—issues such as poor net code causing hit registration issues, cheaters ruining the fun for everyone, and weapon meta balance (like nerfing snipers) to keep things feeling fair for all.
Are you wondering how to hit 120fps in XDefiant? Then look no further than How to enable 120fps mode in XDefiant on Pro Game Guides.
Ivan Krasnov has been a writer for over 7 years. His areas of interest include shooters like Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and The Finals, but also RPGs like Cyberpunk: 2077 and the Dishonored franchise and single-player experiences like God of War and The Last of Us. Ivan has a double major in History and Russian from Oberlin College and when he isn't gaming – he is playing music and touring Europe with his band.
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Sources: XDefiant spikes to 8 million unique players in first week debut
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