Ubisoft Shuts Down XDefiant, Impacting Several Production Studios
The free-to-play shooter XDefiant is being discontinued by Ubisoft. After a strong launch, the game failed to attract and retain enough players. As a result, the two production studios in San Francisco and Osaka will be closed and the production site in Sydney will be downsized, which the publisher has communicated in an unusually open manner.
Ubisoft has announced that the free-to-play shooter XDefiant will be shut down. As of 3 December, new downloads and player registrations will no longer be possible. Season 3 is still scheduled to launch in the future. The servers will remain active until 3 June 2025. "For those who purchased the Ultimate Founder's Pack, you'll receive a full refund. Players who made any purchases within the last 30 days will also be fully refunded," said Mark Rubin, Executive Producer. The 6v6 shooter was designed as a Call of Duty rival with old school gameplay, but was unable to maintain its initial high player numbers. According to Rubin, the game broke internal records early on, reaching five million players in record time. It ended up with over 15 million players. XDefiant was released on 21 May for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.