Far Cry’s Next Game Needs This XDefiant Feature

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There was much anticipation for Ubisoft’s game, XDefiant, following its announcement in July 2021. People were eagerly waiting for its release in 2024, as excitement about the project grew. As a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS), it was expected to face stiff competition from other established franchises. However, Ubisoft had an advantage by leveraging factions from their own intellectual properties to boost XDefiant’s visibility and familiarity.

Regardless of the initial excitement surrounding the release of XDefiant, Ubisoft announced that the game will be closed in June 2025. Although it was evident that the concept of a live-service free-to-play game like XDefiant proved to be financially unviable, there were aspects worth preserving, particularly the innovative way the title blended content from various games into one cohesive experience. Ubisoft retains the potential to apply this concept to an immersive multiplayer mode for the upcoming Far Cry installment.

Far Cry’s Next Multiplayer Could Learn From XDefiant’s Premise

Ubisoft drew upon a variety of gaming franchises it owns to enhance the gameplay of XDefiant, incorporating factions from Watch Dogs, Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell, Assassin’s Creed, and even Far Cry. Interestingly, the team in XDefiant inspired by Far Cry, specifically the Libertad group from Far Cry 6, has its own unique set of special and passive abilities, adding diversity to the team compositions within XDefiant.

As a passionate gamer who’s been hooked on XDefiant, I initially saw it as a promising contender challenging titans like Call of Duty in the FPS arena. However, the game’s closure doesn’t necessarily mean the end of its captivating multiplayer ideas. The Far Cry franchise has dabbled with online modes in recent years, with some success. For instance, Far Cry 5 introduced an Arcade feature that let players craft their unique experiences, enhancing replayability and fostering a vibrant community around the 2018 title.

2021’s “Far Cry 6” streamlined its approach by emphasizing cooperative multiplayer, and future installments in the series might draw inspiration from iconic factions seen in previous “Far Cry” games, similar to how “XDefiant” unified Ubisoft’s diverse franchises. Throughout its history, “Far Cry” has delved into a vast array of settings, time periods, and characters, typically featuring freedom fighters and oppressive regimes. These distinct factions could potentially form the playable teams in an ambitious multiplayer version of “Far Cry”.

Far Cry’s Faction Variety is Perfect For An All-Star Multiplayer Mode

In a game, characters or teams similar to Vaas Montenegro’s pirates, the Seed family cult, the Blood Dragons, and Pagan Min’s Royal Army could serve as the foundation for in-game factions or abilities. These diverse groups would offer an immense range of gameplay options in a multiplayer setting. If XDefiant had persisted with its post-launch content plans, these kinds of factions might have been included. Ubisoft could still breathe life into this idea in their rumored 2026 Far Cry project.

Although it hasn’t been officially verified yet, it’s widely speculated that the upcoming “Far Cry” game might center around significant updates to the series’ typical elements and fundamental mechanics. An impressive multiplayer mode could potentially complement this title perfectly.

It’s unfortunate that the extensive history and diversity of the Far Cry series isn’t appreciated more, and creating a multiplayer experience using the IP’s numerous past factions could be an amazing and immersive homage to its heritage. Although the broad inspiration taken by XDefiant from various Ubisoft franchises didn’t succeed, a smaller-scale multiplayer component in the next Far Cry game focusing on the best aspects of Far Cry’s past seems like a sensible way to uphold the core idea of XDefiant while minimizing risk and industry pressure.

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2025-01-21 03:14