A digital cataclysm has forced a reboot of all contemporary shooters. Heroes from different FPS franchises find themselves crossing paths back to their common ancestor game engine. They will compete to restore their source worlds and each rebuild their path home.

In X8, players embody a variety of distinct heroes who battle alongside and against each other using interactive abilities and unique weapons. Each hero can access three abilities: Instant, Basic and Ultimate. Each character has hero-specific items offering situational advantages. Additionally, heroes can access an extensive arsenal of weapons, armor and items unique to their character. Players can acquire dozens of abilities and customize each hero's loadout before the beginning of each battle round. Additional armaments can be purchased with funds available in subsequent rounds.

Players are divided into two teams (up to 5v5) and play up to 16 rounds, where attackers place a detonation device called ‘The Extrapolator’. Defenders attempt to disrupt deployment or defuse the Extrapolator. Attackers must place the team’s Extrapolator in set locations on the map to enable the detonation process. Once placed, the attackers will need to successfully defend the extrapolation process as the timer counts down to zero. Defenders must prevent deployment of the opposing team’s Extrapolator, deactivate the extrapolator within 30 seconds using ‘The Defuser’ or eliminate all attackers to conclude the round. As a rule, each player can only launch one sortie per round, so eliminating another team will also determine winners of the round.