Ubisoft's 6v6 shooter "XDefiant" is doing quite well in its closed beta. According to the publisher (opens in new tab), it has attracted 1 million players so far. At one point, it was outpacing Modern Warfare 2 on Twitch, but as the beta progressed, the number of viewers has declined, and as of this writing, the number of viewers (opens in new tab) is around 12,000.

For some FPS players, the free-to-play XDefiant may be the faster, twitcherous alternative to today's Call of Duty games they've been waiting for. As I observed earlier this week, there is a direct link here to the old CoD: XDefiant is produced by Mark Rubin, producer of the first two games of the original Modern Warfares (opens in new tab). Bowling calls XDefiant (opens in new tab) a "refinement" of the former CoD.

However, it is not purely a Call of Duty-like game: there are Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch-like escort modes, and the special abilities are not all similar to CoD gadgets. One faction's ultimate is a flamethrower.

My experience with XDefiant's closed beta was definitely sweatier than my usual experience with Modern Warfare 2 today; XDefiant's casual matches have no skill-based matchmaking, so the top of the scoreboard is monsters with 30+ kills, followed by minnows with less than 20 kills. There were some frustrating matches where every time I spawned I would get crushed from a different angle, but there were also some fun streaks. It was very brief, but fun. [especially compared to the bleak devastation of Call of Duty. Other than that, I don't find XDefiant's cast of Tom Clancy graffiti rebels particularly appealing, but maybe I'll like them, and I bet aspects like the UI will change after the beta.

This closed beta was scheduled to end on April 23 at 11 p.m. PST, but has been extended until April 25 (opens in new tab). You can participate by registering at the official site (opens in new tab), and players who have already participated in the beta may also be invited. (I already used the invite. Sorry.)

The release date for XDefiant has not yet been set, but it will probably be in the form of an "open beta" sometime this year.