xDefiant, Ubisoft's F2P Shooter, Shutters As Studios Close and Downsize

Ubisoft's XDefiant: A Free-to-Play Shooter's Unexpected Demise

Ubisoft has announced the closure of its free-to-play shooter, XDefiant, with servers scheduled to shut down on June 3rd, 2025. This decision marks a surprising end to the game's relatively short lifespan.

The Sunset Begins

The shutdown process commences December 3rd, 2024. New player registration, downloads, and in-game purchases (including DLC) will be halted. Ubisoft is committed to issuing refunds:

• Full refunds for Ultimate Founders Pack purchases.
• Full refunds for VC and DLC purchases made since November 3rd, 2024. Refunds are expected to be processed within eight weeks, by January 28th, 2025. Contact Ubisoft support for assistance after this date. Note that only the Ultimate Founder's Pack is eligible for a refund.

Reasons for Closure

According to Ubisoft's Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer, Marie-Sophie Waubert, XDefiant failed to achieve the player base and retention necessary to compete in the fiercely competitive free-to-play FPS market. The game fell short of expectations for sustained profitability, making further investment unsustainable.

Impact on the Development Team

Approximately half of XDefiant's team will transition to other roles within Ubisoft. However, the San Francisco and Osaka studios will close, and the Sydney studio will downsize, resulting in significant job losses (143 in San Francisco, and 134 anticipated in Osaka and Sydney). This follows previous layoffs in August 2024 across various Ubisoft American studios. Affected employees will receive severance packages and career assistance.

A Positive Reflection

Despite initial success (5 million users shortly after launch on May 21st, 2024, and 15 million total players), XDefiant ultimately proved unprofitable. Executive Producer Mark Rubin acknowledged the challenges of the free-to-play market and expressed gratitude for the community, highlighting the positive player-developer interactions.

Season 3 and Prior Reports

Season 3 will still launch as planned, although details remain scarce. Speculation points towards Assassin's Creed-themed content. However, access will be limited to players who acquired the game before December 3rd, 2024. An earlier report from August 29th, 2024, by Insider Gaming, correctly predicted the game's closure due to low player numbers, a claim initially denied by Rubin. The release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 likely contributed to XDefiant's declining player base.