Ubisoft announced it will be shutting down its free-to-play shooter XDefiant on June 3, 2025. The game’s servers will remain online until then, but new downloads and player registration will no longer be available. Despite the closure, players who purchased the Ultimate Founder’s Pack will receive a full refund. Nearly 300 employees, including nearly 200 in San Francisco, Osaka, and Sydney offices, will lose their jobs. However, the remaining half of the XDefiant production team will transition to other roles within Ubisoft.
According to chief studios and portfolio officer Marie-Sophie de Waubert, the game failed to attract and retain enough players to meet Ubisoft’s standards in the competitive free-to-play FPS market. As a result, the company has decided not to invest further into XDefiant.
XDefiant was released earlier this year with promising numbers, reaching 1 million players within hours of its launch. However, sales have been declining, and the game did not meet Ubisoft’s expectations. The company cited “very little marketing” as a factor in the decline, despite stating that there were no plans to close XDefiant after its fourth season.
Ubisoft is continuing to reduce costs, with over 2,000 job cuts reported in the past two years. The company remains committed to its games-as-a-service strategy, citing success with other titles like Rainbow Six, The Crew, and For Honor.
Source: https://www.polygon.com/gaming/490491/ubsioft-xdefiant-shutting-down