Ubisoft is rolling out its new 6vs6 competitive shooter Tom Clancy's XDefiant widely, aiming not only to be available for free on PC and all consoles, but also to fully support cross-play from day one. On PC, however, XDefiant's availability is limited. The game is not available on Steam or the Epic Games Store, and there is no guarantee that it will ever be available.

"Currently, once the game is fully released, it will be available on Ubisoft Connect," an Ubisoft representative told PC Gamer." We are in talks with other stores to offer the game after launch, but nothing is set in stone at this time."

For the time being, XDefiant will only be playable on PC through the Ubisoft Connect app (formerly known as Uplay). All Ubi games released in the past few years have required this app in some form. Currently, launching games such as "Rainbow Six Siege" or "Assassin's Creed Valhalla" through Steam or Epic requires Ubisoft Connect to be running in the background to authenticate the game.

The transition from Steam and Epic is unusual for publishers; since 2019, Ubisoft has partnered with Epic on PC releases. Prior to that, Ubisoft games appeared on Steam on day one. Three upcoming Ubi games ("Rainbow Six Extraction," "Riders Republic" and "Far Cry 6") have store pages on the Epic store, including "Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora" and "Skull & Bones. games whose release is still in the works do not have store pages.

Ubisoft has not revealed why XDefiant will not be considered for other storefronts at launch, but it may have something to do with the game's monetization plan. The free-to-play base means that Ubi definitely intends to make money from in-game purchases; if the game is sold on Steam or the Epic Games Store, Ubisoft will have to share a portion of the in-game purchases with Valve and Epic. Another free to play game announced by Ubi play game, The Division Heartland, also does not have an Epic page, but this may be because it is too new.

Ubi's free-to-play battle royale Hyper Scape eventually appeared on the Epic store when it was fully released in August 2020; XDefiant may go through a similar process, but other storefronts are not Ubi's current priority It is clear. Ubisoft is currently accepting sign-ups for the first playable test of XDefiant, which will begin on August 5. If accepted, the game will naturally be played on Ubisoft Connect.