Ubisoft discontinues free-to-play shooter "XDefiant"
4/12/2024
Translation: machine translated
Ubisoft has announced the end of the free-to-play shooter "XDefiant". After an initial success with eleven million players, the number of active players has fallen sharply. In addition, the main studio responsible for the game in San Francisco will be closed.
The French video game developer Ubisoft has officially announced that the free-to-play shooter "XDefiant" will be discontinued. The title, which was only officially launched in May 2024, will close its servers for good on 3 June 2025.
"XDefiant", which was conceived as an extension of the Tom Clancy universe, was unable to establish itself permanently on the market despite a promising start with eleven million players in the first five weeks. According to Insider Gaming, the number of simultaneously active players on all platforms combined is said to have shrunk to around 20,000.
Downloads disabled with immediate effect
As of today, it is no longer possible to download the game or register as a player. For existing players, however, the servers will remain active until the end of June 2025. The content of the third season will also be released as planned. If you have purchased the Ultimate Founder's Pack or purchased in-game content in the last 30 days, you will receive a full refund. These refunds should be issued automatically within eight weeks from today, according to Ubisoft.
The decision to cancel the project will also have far-reaching consequences for the development studio. This is reported by industry insider Stephen Totilo on Bluesky. The end of "XDefiant" also means the end for Ubisoft's studio in San Francisco. A large part of the game's development took place there. Around 143 employees are said to be affected by the closure in San Francisco. A skeleton team will continue to support the game until the end.
Ubisoft and the complex reality of the free-to-play market
The cancellation of "XDefiant" highlights the challenges in the free-to-play games sector. Despite large investments and high expectations, many titles fail to offer a sustainable gaming experience and stand out from the competition. The message from Mark Rubin, executive producer of "XDefiant", sounds like a lament to Ubisoft that expectations are too high and patience is too low.
Free-to-play in particular is a long road. Many free-to-play games take a long time to gain a foothold and become profitable. It's a long road that Ubisoft and the teams working on the game were prepared for until recently. But unfortunately, the journey became too long to continue in any meaningful way.
Ubisoft recently ran into legal trouble after they blocked access to the game "The Crew" and two Californians filed a lawsuit against it. My colleague Debbie reported on this:
Header image: Ubisoft
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