Does XDefiant have Team Deathmatch?

Team Deathmatch is an undisputed staple of most shooters, and with XDefiant looking to break new ground in the genre, the mode seems like it would be a must.

The first online game I ever played was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and I’ll never forget jumping into Team Deathmatch and being absolutely decimated. I loved it. It’s classic, it’s vintage, and feels like it’s a need for any multiplayer shooter.

Ubisoft’s XDefiant is following a lot of the FPS rulebook, but also trying to walk its own path with no battle royale or SBMM. Not having Team Deathmatch might be one step too far though, so let’s take a look at what we know.

Is Team Deathmatch in XDefiant?

Surprisingly, XDefiant does not include Team Deathmatch as any of its game modes, and the closest you can currently get to playing it is HotShot.

It feels weird to say, but there is no TDM in XDefiant, and I’m not sure why. It’s not like the FPS has a set of completely unique modes, it literally includes other beloved classics. Domination is featured with its absorbing three-flag fight for supremacy across several zones, as is Escort—paying homage to Overwatch‘s mode of the same name, among others.

Interestingly, Ubisoft has glossed over this fact too by opting to celebrate HotShot and talk it up as the main, fast-flowing killfest mode. It bares a similar resemblance with two teams running around the map trying to earn kills and collect Bounties à la CoD‘s Kill Confirmed.

But its objective-based format takes away from the simplicity of Team Deathmatch. So, for now at least, there is no Team Deathmatch. But I have a suspicion it’s being held back for a future content update in XDefiant. I won’t speculate though, and all I can ask is you keep checking back here for updates on TDM making its triumphant arrival.

Until we hear more, check out how to slide cancel in XDefiant, as well as the fastest ways to level up guns.