This Week at Ubisoft: XDefiant Closed Beta Takeaways, The Division 2 Teams Up with Resident Evil

This week at Ubisoft, XDefiant's closed beta period ended, and pro-gamer-turned-developer Patrick "Aches" Price shared some of the key takeaways the team learned; Ubisoft's Editorial VP Fawzi Mesmar shares about being a leader in the industry and the importance of representation in games; The Division 2 teamed up with Resident Evil for a new Apparel Event; and Rocksmith+ mobile came to Canada. Check it all out and more in this week's roundup of Ubisoft news.

The XDefiant Team's Key Takeaways From the Closed Beta

XDefiant's Closed Beta lasted 12 days, offering invited players a look at the five game modes and factions, 14 maps, and 24 weapons with 44 attachments that will be available at launch, as well as a taste of both unranked and ranked gameplay. Patrick "Aches" Price, a former pro-gamer and developer on the game, reflects on the Closed Beta, sharing key takeaways the team will take into launch, including gameplay balancing, faction use, and community enthusiasm.

The Division 2 Kicks off Resident Evil Apparel Event

The Division 2 has partnered up with Resident Evil for its newest Apparel Event, bringing 21 apparel items from the Resident Evil series for players to collect. The event will run until May 16, and will feature daily projects and earnable keys that will unlock character skins, shirts, backpack trophies, arm patches, gear dyes, and weapon skins. Plus, anyone who logs in to The Division 2 during the event will automatically receive the Leon Kennedy RPD three-piece outfit.

Leading with Empathy During Arab Heritage Month

Ubisoft is celebrating Arab Heritage Month with the theme of "Leading With Empathy," something Ubisoft's Editorial VP Fawzi Mesmar practices every day. Ubisoft News spoke with Mesmar about what leading with empathy means to him as a leader, his experience coming up as a game designer in Jordan, the importance of representation in games, and how his hit podcast, The Habibis, came about.

Ubisoft+ Adds Old School Musical and Neon Abyss to Library

Each month, Ubisoft+ adds new indie titles to its growing library, and for April, those games are Old School Musical and Neon Abyss. Old School Musical is a retro-style rhythm game that has players timing attacks to the beat of chiptune music, and features tracks from IRL artists including Dubmood, Zabutom, and Hello World. Neon Abyss is a roguelite platformer that puts you in the Grim Squad, an elite group of fighters handpicked by Hades to battle through the Abyss and defeat New Gods (with some animal companions you'll find along the way). Both titles will be available on Ubisoft+ for six months.

Rocksmith+ Now Available on Mobile in Canada Try It For Free For 7 Days

As of April 26, Rocksmith+ is available for mobile devices in Canada, and is offering a seven-day free trial for new users (that sign up for a 12-month subscription) to check out the music-learning app that teaches you how to play electric, acoustic, and bass guitar by letting you play songs from your favorite artists. Rocksmith+ is available on PC and launching on mobile worldwide at a later date, letting you learn at your own pace with real-time feedback, and giving subscribers access to a library of over 6,000 songs.

Ubisoft+ Spotlight - Neon Abyss

(Editorial note: This is a series of quick weekly highlights written by Ubisoft News team writers that feature games available with a Ubisoft+ subscription. We hope you'll enjoy reminiscing with us, or perhaps discover something new.)

Brittany Spurlin: Hades needs you! Join the Grim Squad and fight your way through the Abyss to defeat the pantheon of New Gods. Neon Abyss is a roguelite game, meaning that every time you die, you'll need to start your run from the beginning - but that's part of the fun, and a crucial incentive to buff you're your character and up your strategy before your next attempt. Before each run, you'll be able to choose which member of the Grim Squad to play as, as well as pick the dungeon path you want to take. During each run, you'll be able to unlock new rooms, items, bosses, endings, and special rules that change the way the game is played.

Speaking of bosses, each of the New Gods are inspired by "modern obsessions," giving fun twist of relatability for anyone who's ever wanted to take on 21^st century vices. Be ready to take on Tik and Tok (Gods of Mobile Videos) as they pelt you with flying screens; avoid the tearing claws of Chain, Block, and Meta (Gods of Bittercoin); and aim for the ever-moving head of Pewdie and Piedie (Gods of Trolls). As you may have noticed, all New Gods come in pairs of two or more, the strongest of which will come out in Phase 2 of each boss fight.

Plus, during your dungeon crawls, you can find and care for eggs that will hatch into animal friends with special abilities that can help you fight. My personal favorite? Cactus Baby, who deals damage to enemies on contact and, after leveling up, can shoot off fire bullets.

You can play Neon Abyss for the next six months with a Ubisoft+ subscription, after which it will still be available on the Ubisoft Store.

Game Updates

On April 27, Rainbow Six Siege deployed a hot fix addressing game crashes caused by Match Replay.

Brawlhalla launched patch 7.07 on April 26, bringing the Synthwave back to the free-to-play fighting game.

• Synthwave Reloaded Battle Pass features new missions and an updated reward track
• Ezio's Recover time for Ezio's Side Orb reduced to 23 (from 25)
• Bombsketball platforms have been redesigned with new art, animations, and timers

The Settlers: New Allies underwent maintenance on April 27 to investigate and fix a bug affecting game sound.