The new free-to-play competitive shooter, XDefiant, has launched today, but it's already facing some matchmaking issues. Players, including myself, have encountered delays, with the game often leaving us in empty lobbies for several minutes before displaying a "playlist doesn't exist" error message.
The developers are aware of the problem, and as of 1:30 PM Pacific time, the situation seems to be improving—I managed to get into a few matches recently. When the game does work, it runs smoothly on my slightly aged RTX 2070 Super, which is expected from a competitive FPS that prioritizes performance over flashy graphics. I’m genuinely enjoying the gameplay experience.
I had fun with XDefiant during its beta phase, despite my initial skepticism. The game has been described as a throwback to the jittery, fast-paced Call of Duty style, appealing to the "MLG pro 360 no-scope" crowd—what we’ve been calling "sweaty." I don’t usually enjoy competing with players aiming to make YouTube highlight reels of their kills, set to tracks like Darude's "Sandstorm."
XDefiant’s competitive focus is evident in its playlist design. Outside of one introductory playlist, the game’s casual playlists do not use skill-based matchmaking (SBMM). While SBMM aims to ensure players are matched with others of similar skill levels, creating challenging but balanced matches, it’s controversial. Critics argue it homogenizes the experience, can be ineffective, and often leads to longer matchmaking queues.
Currently, XDefiant's matchmaking is slow, so it’s hard to claim that the absence of SBMM has improved speed. However, I haven't been consistently outmatched by younger esports prodigies either. This may change as casual players drop out over time, but for now, I’m content without algorithmic matchmaking balancing every match.
One aspect I’m not fully sold on yet is the factions, which provide special abilities like cloaking suits, healing devices, or deployable shields. These feel like a different take on utility items or killstreak rewards from Call of Duty, but with cooldowns and ultimates. In a game focused on refining competitive shooting by stripping away the excesses of modern CoD and hero shooters, these abilities seem unnecessary. Maybe they’ll grow on me over time.
For this "pre-season" launch, several casual playlists are available, along with a preview of the ranked mode coming in season one. There’s also a premium battle pass offering cosmetic items and XP boosters, but nothing that affects gameplay.
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