XDefiant – the upcoming FPS from Ubisoft– is getting a second beta this week, but only players who were in the closed beta are able to preload and play early before it goes live tomorrow.
The first XDefiant beta was a closed one, taking place in April and running from the 13-24. It proved hugely popular, drawing a staggering one million players over the course of its first week. But with great success comes great server issues. Players complained of stability issues, leading the game's executive producer, Mark Rubin to consider suggesting extending the beta to make up for the shaky XDefiant servers
As a result, we got a few extra days of playtime, letting Mirror Gaming editor and resident Warzone player, Nathan Bliss, weigh in with his XDefiant closed beta impressions, and whether Ubisoft's shooter has the potential to be Call of Duty killer. But there's plenty of us who didn't get the chance to dabble with the game; happily, we're finally getting the opportunity with the XDefiant open beta. Unless you're on PS4 or Xbox One of course – like the last one, this beta is limited to players on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
Depending on whether this is your first time in an XDefiant beta, and which platform you're on, how you go about preloading the game is going to differ. If you were in the XDefiant closed beta you can preload and play early, starting Tuesday, June 20. Everyone else will have to wait until the open beta starts proper, on Wednesday, June 21, and download it then.
How to preload XDefiant beta on PC
To preload the XDefiant beta on PC, first off, you need to have Ubisoft Connect PC installed on your machine. With that taken care of, follow these steps:
- Select the 'Games' tab.
- Under 'My Games', choose the 'XDefiant' tile.
- Select either 'Preload' or 'Update'
There is an issue right now with PC players who participated in the closed beta being unable to preload and dive in early. Preloads on PC have been open since June 16, but Rubin has flagged an issue with PC players not getting their Open Session email confirmation.
As per Rubin's comments, and the dedicated page on Ubisoft's website, if you're eligible for the XDefiant open beta on PC but haven't received email confirmation, it might be because you've opted out of newsletters and emails from the publisher. So much for trying to minimise junk mail. The game should still be added to your library. If not, you'll have to hang tight until tomorrow which is something a lot of redditors are having to do too.
How to preload XDefiant beta on PS5
If you want to preload the XDefiant beta on PS5, you've got one option and it's incredibly simple:
- Update the game or reinstall from your PlayStation library
How to preload XDefiant beta on Xbox Series X
Again, just like PlayStation players, if you're looking to preload XDefiant on Xbox Series X, you have one option; but rather than simply updating the current version in your library, you'll need to download a new app:
- Uninstall XDefiant closed beta
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Install XDefiant Open Session
For everyone who wasn't in the closed beta, the XDefiant open beta starts on Wednesday, June 21 at 6pm BST / 1pm EDT / 10am PDT. It runs up until Friday, June 23 at 11pm PDT, which is 7am BST / 2am EDT on Saturday, June 24.
