Ubisoft Shuts Down Defiant as Studios Restructure

Ubisoft's free-to-play shooter, XDefiant, is shutting down. Servers will be deactivated on June 3rd, 2025. This follows a period of declining player numbers, despite an initially promising launch.

The Shutdown Process:

Beginning December 3rd, 2024, new players will be unable to download, register, or purchase XDefiant. Ubisoft will issue refunds for in-game purchases made since November 3rd, 2024, including full refunds for the Ultimate Founders Pack. These refunds are expected to be processed within eight weeks, by January 28th, 2025. Contact Ubisoft for assistance if your refund isn't received by this date. Note that only the Ultimate Founder's Pack is eligible for a full refund.

Reasons for Closure:

Ubisoft's Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer, Marie-Sophie Waubert, stated that XDefiant failed to achieve the player retention necessary to thrive in the competitive free-to-play market. The game, while initially successful, did not maintain a player base large enough to justify continued investment.

Impact on the Development Team:

Approximately half of XDefiant's development team will transition to other roles within Ubisoft. However, the San Francisco and Osaka studios will close, and the Sydney studio will significantly downsize, resulting in job losses for 143 employees in San Francisco and 134 in Osaka and Sydney combined. This follows previous layoffs in August 2024 at other Ubisoft studios.

Despite the Shutdown:

Season 3 will still launch as planned, though details remain scarce. Speculation points to content potentially drawn from the Assassin's Creed franchise. Access to Season 3 will be limited to players who purchased the game before December 3rd, 2024. An earlier blog post detailing Season 3's roadmap has been removed and replaced by the shutdown announcement.

Early Reports and Shifting Expectations:

Insider Gaming reported on August 29th, 2024, citing internal Ubisoft sources, that XDefiant's low player count was leading to its demise. While initially denied by XDefiant's Executive Producer, Mark Rubin, the shutdown announcement confirms these earlier concerns. The release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 between Seasons 2 and 3 may have further impacted XDefiant's player base.

Despite the disappointing news, Rubin expressed gratitude for the community and highlighted the positive interactions between players and developers. The game, while ultimately unsuccessful in terms of long-term profitability, achieved 15 million players during its lifespan, exceeding Ubisoft's internal expectations initially.