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XDefiant could get an October release due to console certification failure

The console versions of XDefiant failed first-party certifications, which puts Ubisoft's shooter in an awkward spot.

Ozzie Mejia

September 11, 2023 3:55 PM

Ubisoft

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Ubisoft had hoped to release its crossover shooter, XDefiant, later this month. Unfortunately, the road to release has hit a major speed bump. On Monday, Executive Producer Mark Rubin issued a lengthy statement explaining the console certification process and noted that XDefiant has failed its first-party submissions to PlayStation and Microsoft.

"At the end of July, we started this process, and we got our first results back by mid-August which was a Not Pass," Rubin explained on the Ubisoft website. "We realized then that we had more work related to compliance than we had anticipated. If it HAD passed, then we would have been able to ship at the end of Aug. But it didn't and so we have spent the last 3-4 weeks fixing those issues and getting ready to do another submission. We are currently in the CM prep part of that process and will hopefully be submitting to 1st parties in a little less than 2 weeks. If that Passes cleanly, then we could be looking at a mid-to-end of September release. There is however a likely scenario where we get a conditional Pass meaning we have to do a Day 1 patch with some final fixes to ensure compliance. If we do need to do a Day 1 patch, then that pushes our date out to early/mid-October."

Those who have worked in the video game QA world can testify that console certification is serious business. Games that don't pass certification are not allowed to release on that specific console platform until the major highlighted issues are fixed. Reasons for failure can include an accumulation of violations that add up to an undesirable point total or a single violation of a hard requirement, such as functionality with Trophies or Achievements. On top of that, once a submission fails, a publisher or developer must wait a certain length of time before it can resubmit the game for a fresh evaluation.

As a result of its console certification woes, XDefiant is now seeing its release window pushed back by at least a few weeks. Rubin issued a hopeful estimate that the game can release before the end of September. If not, he notes that the game could release in early to mid-October. October is not a good time for a lot of games to release given what's on this year's release schedule and it might even put Ubisoft in the awkward position of competing against its own Assassin's Creed Mirage, which had its own release date moved around to avoid confrontation with October's heaviest hitters like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

A lot could change with XDefiant in the weeks ahead. We'll be sure to keep our eye on this story and post any updates to Shacknews as they come up. In the meantime, be sure to check out our preview from earlier this year.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?