XDefiant Shuts Down In June 2025, Ubisoft Closes Two Offices

As a gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen many games come and go, some leaving lasting impacts, others merely footnotes in gaming history. XDefiant, a game that once promised to challenge the mighty Call of Duty, has now become another chapter in this chronicle.

Ubisoft has revealed that the game XDefiant will be discontinued on June 3, 2025. Furthermore, Ubisoft is also ceasing operations at their offices located in Osaka, Japan and San Francisco.

Starting from December 3, it is no longer possible to acquire additional downloads, register new players, or make purchases for XDefiant. Despite this, the game’s third season will proceed as scheduled, and it will remain playable up until its deactivation date.

Today, Ubisoft has made public that they are ending the development on their free-to-play first-person shooter game, XDefiant. Consequently, about half of the global team working on XDefiant will be reassigned to different positions within Ubisoft, as stated by Ubisoft in a communication with TopMob.

Dear Players,
Important message: XDEFIANT IS SUNSETTING!
Thank you for your incredible support and dedication to XDEFIANT. We regret to inform you that we are initiating the sunset process starting today, December 3, 2024.
As a result, new downloads, player registrations and…

— XDefiant (@PlayXDefiant) December 3, 2024

This choice implies the shutdown of our production facilities in San Francisco, Osaka, and Sydney, resulting in approximately 143 employees leaving in San Francisco, around 134 employees potentially leaving in Osaka and Sydney.

As a gamer, I’d put it like this: In a heartfelt goodbye message, our fearless leader Mark Rubin shared that over 15 million players joined the XDefiant battlefield! This game was designed as a rival to Call of Duty and aimed to stand out by ditching skill-based matchmaking for an authentic arcade shooter feel reminiscent of the good old days.

Initially in September, rumors arose about player loss in XDefiant, but Ubisoft dismissed these reports. Later in October, Rubin affirmed that the game’s second season was indeed on schedule and countered allegations suggesting the game would be closed.

In our review of TopMob’s XDefiant, we expressed that the combat remains engaging enough to keep playing, yet it has plenty of room for enhancements. The competition is tough, but there are superior alternatives available that don’t grapple with internal conflicts like XDefiant does.

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2024-12-04 03:38