What players often look out for in a live service game is how predatory the microtransaction may be. In a recent blog post, Ubisoft explained what the in-game purchase of XDefiant, its upcoming free-to-play, first-person shooter, would look like.
While there will be lots of optional purchases, Ubisoft has ruled out the place of play-to-win mechanics. According to Ubisoft, a crucial part of ensuring the game delivers an amazing arcade shooter experience is to “keep making content to excite and engage our players for years to come, season after season”.
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According to Ubisoft, any purchasable item that impacts gameplay can also be unlocked by completing in-game challenges. They said this would ensure “fair play amongst our community”.
“For example, the DedSec faction in Preseason will be purchasable or unlockable through an in-game challenge by acquiring 700k XP.”
Instead of prioritizing rewarding victories in XDefiant, Ubisoft will focus on rewarding the time that players invest in the game. Consequently, the team behind XDefiant is creating customization options “that rewards all of the matches, victories, and even defeats that you put into the game”.
“As you play that one more match, all of your time and energy will work towards unlocking content either through the Battle Pass or challenges.”
Ubisoft listed a host of ways the time players invest in XDefiant will be rewarded. It includes obtaining items that players will usually only get through microtransactions. The list of rewards that players can get by investing time in the game includes:
- Free Battle Pass Rewards
- In-Game Challenges, both Daily and Weekly
- Ubisoft Connect Challenges
- Weapon Mastery (with regular updates)
- Community Participation Rewards like Twitch Drops, giveaways, and in-game events
XDefiant will have a long list of customizations
Ubisoft has unveiled some of the customizations that will come to the game at launch while also teasing more customization in the future. Top on the list of customizations that will come to the game at launch are character skins and weapon skins.
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Other customizations that the game will have include MVP Player Animations, Player Cards, and Emoji Packs. Ubisoft mentioned that more features are lined up for the game in the future. Ubisoft promises to listen to players and take note of their feedback to provide “fair and engaging customization options”.
Ubisoft listed all the content that will come to XDefiant at launch to include:
- Premium Battle Pass
- Character cosmetics
- Weapon cosmetics
- Faction unlocks
- Player Card Backgrounds
- Player animations
- Emoji packs
Do you think rewarding players for time rather than wins should be the new standard in live service games? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
