Tom Clancy's Elite Squad has not had the smoothest of rides. After a fairly uneventful reveal at E3 2019, its troubles came to a head last August upon launch, which featured a controversial opening cinematic depicting Elite Squad's villains - a terrorist organization named UMBRA - boasting a logo identical to the 'raised fist' commonly associated with civil rights activist movements like Black Lives Matter. The fallout from Ubisoft's insensitive creative choice, grouped with the game's poor critical reception, likely contributed to the company's decision to shut Elite Squad down after only a year. However, it doesn't appear Ubisoft is quite ready to throw in the towel when it comes to the concept of a Clancy-verse crossover thanks to Tom Clancy's XDefiant.
The upcoming XDefiant stands to benefit some from Elite Squad's relegation to the wayside. But the quickness with which Ubisoft dropped the mobile title compared to the company's extensive work on its other live service games also sets expectations for what XDefiant has to achieve if it wishes to survive for longer than Elite Squad.
How Elite Squad's Shutdown Could Benefit XDefiant
Despite being different titles, Elite Squad and XDefiant are cut from a similar cloth; each brings the elements of the various Tom Clancy-branded franchises into one game. That said, allowing these two games to coexist strips either title of the chance to deem itself "the definitive Tom Clancy crossover experience." However, now that Elite Squad is out of the picture, XDefiant won't have to worry about sharing the spotlight with the mobile title, which should aid its reputation in more ways than one.
The controversy surrounding Elite Squad is pretty damaging stuff. From the demonization of imagery historically used by oppressed peoples in the pursuit of equal rights to the game's premise depicting a government hit-squad assigned to quell a protest movement by force, it's hard to imagine any title desiring to share a distinction with it. While there's no confirmation that Elite Squad's shutdown is related to maintaining XDefiant's reputation ahead of its release, it's certainly easy to see how the latter benefits from avoiding comparisons.
The Concern Over Elite Squad's Shutdown
Elite Squad launched on mobile devices in August 2020, and it will cease service come this October. While the game was evidently not a success, its swift shuttering is alarming, especially for a company that seemingly specializes in creating live-service games. Ubisoft is no stranger to making the best out of bad launches and has seen success on multiple occasions while doing so. Both Rainbow Six Siege and The Division had less-than-spectacular starts, but nowadays they are two of Ubisoft's flagship multiplayer titles.
But it's important to note that Siege and The Division are games that either reviewed or sold well even before Ubisoft began generously supporting each of them. Inversely, Elite Squad was panned by critics and fans alike, and it's probably not a stretch to assume its microtransaction sales were lackluster given the game is on its deathbed after only a year. Based on the company's history, it looks like a successful Ubisoft live-service title can only be one of two things: A well-received game that's worth further monetizing, or a high-selling game that's worth improving.
XDefiant's reveal trailer doesn't make a strong case for the game to fit into either category. It looks like a clone of Call of Duty for some, while the cosmetics donned by characters (which are undoubtedly purchasable microtransactions) look bland, lacking in identity - two qualities that cosmetic microtransactions, the lifeblood of a free-to-play game, should never be.
The shuttering of Elite Squad may help XDefiant maintain a safe, brand-friendly image, but it also spells out the consequences for Ubisoft games that fail to either impress critics or rake in the dough. To survive, the game will either have to shock the world with innovative FPS gameplay, or be a cash cow for Ubisoft thanks to its microtransactions. But right now, it looks like it might be heading down a similar road as Elite Squad, just with less controversy.
Tom Clancy's XDefiant begins its first PC closed beta test on August 5, 2021. The game is in development for Luna, PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.