XDefiant developer hasn’t ruled out possible Steam release

Though Ubisoft’s XDefiant won’t launch day one on Steam, a developer says such a release could be possible in the future.

For quite some time, Ubisoft has sidestepped Steam to instead release PC versions of its games on the Ubisoft Connect launcher.

Things changed in 2019 when the publisher launched The Division 2 on the Epic Games Store, a move signaling its support of Epic’s more developer-friendly business model. While Steam usually pockets 30 percent of game sales, Epic only takes a 12 percent commission on its storefront.

Given Ubisoft’s track record, then, few were surprised to learn that XDefiant isn’t hitting Steam at launch. Such a decision may not entirely be set in stone, however.

Ubisoft hasn’t ruled out a Steam release for XDefiant

In recently responding to a fan question on Twitter, Ubisoft San Francisco EP, Mark Rubin, addressed the possibility of a Steam launch for the upcoming shooter.

Rubin, admittedly, did not offer much in the way of specifics, but his comment may give some players hope for the future.

The Executive Producer wrote, in part: “Steam won’t be something right now. Possible future. We need to do some work to get Steam working with Ubiconnect for our game so it’s not a freebie.”

Mark Rubin/Twitter

While this hardly constitutes evidence that Ubisoft will eventually support a Steam release for XDefiant, Mark Rubin’s words suggest the idea is under consideration.

For now, though, those interested in the formerly Tom Clancy-branded, free-to-play shooter patiently await news of its launch date. Ubisoft previously confirmed a Summer 2023 rollout, leaving many to believe it could hit PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms sometime in August.