Ubisoft has finally set a date for the public release of its free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter, and after much delay, the product from the French publisher’s San Francisco studio is on the starting line.

Ubisoft has thanked and welcomed the response to its server tests and will launch the pre-season on PlayStation 5, Xbox series and PC on May 21. This period will last six weeks, starting at 10 AM Pacific on May 21st, and all the content from the server test will be available on XDefiant. There will be five factions (Echelon, Phantoms, Cleaners, Libertad, and the buyable or unlockable Dedsec… is that how long Watch_Dogs has been gone?), multiple maps (Arena, Attica Heights, Dumbo, Echelon HQ, Emporium, Liberty, Mayday, Meltdown, Midway, Nudleplex, Pueblito, Showtime, Times Square, Zoo – 14 in total), and 24 weapons.

There will be four game modes (Hot Shot, Occupy, Escort, Zone Control), and you can practice in Ranked Playlist 4v4 matches (same four modes, but with Domination instead of Hot Shot). Rewards earned during the Server Test and Insider Test will be available at launch. New seasons will be released every three months. The first faction will be codenamed Ruby, the second Buzz, the third Orchard, and the fourth Horde, and each will bring three to three new weapons and maps (for a total of 12-12), as well as a 90 level Battle Pass. There will be new arena and progression modes, a ranked mode, private matches and caster cams to keep the competition fair, and there will be a welcome playlist and practice zones for beginners. More details on the game will be announced by Ubisoft San Francisco prior to launch.

XDefiant launches May 21 on PlayStation 5, Xbox consoles and PC (Ubisoft Connect; no Steam?). Just make sure it doesn’t go the way of Hyper Scape. Who remembers Ubisoft’s battle royale experiment? The French publisher wants to step up in the live service sector, but it won’t be easy.

Source: Gematsu, Ubisoft