Last week, we covered XDefiant’s live-streaming performance upon release, praising its popularity among shooting game fans as attributable to the game’s Ubisoft universe crossover premise. We also mentioned that the general discourse around the game (and a couple of top streamers’ playing histories) suggested that many Call of Duty viewers were flocking to the new title due to a similarity in mechanics.
In this article, we want to see if this is really true – how much of XDefiant’s audience also watches Call of Duty games? Forums continue to tout the claim that XDefiant is the “CoD Killer” as it simplifies the formula that makes Call of Duty games so enjoyable. We’ll look at how similar the two games really are, and whether there’s any credence to the idea that XDefiant might one day become more popular than Call of Duty.
Similar Game Mechanics and Word-of-Mouth Attract Newcomers to XDefiant
When looking at XDefiant‘s audience compared to other FPS games, it becomes apparent that the speculation of commentators online is backed up by the numbers. 52.6% of the viewers who watch Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 also watch XDefiant. Chatter about the new game amongst the Call of Duty community has clearly converted into viewership. Meanwhile, one-third of Overwatch 2 viewers have watched XDefiant as well, supporting the claim that XDefiant’s different class abilities echo Overwatch 2’s hero abilities. In both these cases, word-of-mouth has been crucial for audience cross-pollination.
So given the obvious interest in XDefiant from Call of Duty players, could it truly convert this fanbase? XDefiant’s greatest strength is its status as an immortal live-service game. While Call of Duty releases a new version every year, thus erasing player progress, XDefiant will keep track of players’ progress indefinitely in the same manner as Fortnite or PUBG. XDefiant is also praised for its heavier emphasis on achieving team objectives rather than chasing kill streaks, yet all while using the same sliding mechanics of a Treyarch Call of Duty title. Classes spice up the gameplay as well, adding in a touch of Overwatch 2’s verve.
Yet despite all of this, and a huge surge of popularity upon release, there’s a much more likely path forward: XDefiant will occupy its own niche. The game scratches a different itch than Call of Duty thanks to its arcade-style leanings, and will likely exist alongside that game with more “hardcore” players preferring Call of Duty’s perks system and (slightly) more methodical gameplay. And while Call of Duty releasing a new game every year resets player progress, this also means new waves of hype for old players and a fresh start for newcomers.
It will take a few months to see if XDefiant is just a flavor-of-the-month shooter, or if the game has the appeal to endure. We’ve seen that crossover premises can be a fantastic drawcard for competitive gamers, with titles like Super Smash Bros. and Dead by Daylight still performing well on live-streaming platforms. Stream Hatchet will wait to see if Ubisoft can similarly leverage its back catalog of games to keep building XDefiant‘s audience.
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