As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I can’t help but feel a profound sense of sadness and frustration upon hearing about Ubisoft‘s decision to shut down XDefiant and lay off nearly 300 talented developers. The game industry has always been unpredictable, but the pace at which it changes these days is nothing short of alarming.
Ubisoft has stunned the gaming world with its decision to close down its Call of Duty rival, XDefiant, shutter Ubisoft San Francisco, and let go around 300 employees. This unfortunate news comes as a blow to those in the video game development industry. Internal communications from CEO Yves Guillemot and executive Marie-Sophie de Waubert have since surfaced.
According to a memo obtained by Insider Gaming, Guillemot stated that the choices to terminate XDefiant, shutter Ubisoft San Francisco and Osaka, and scale back its Sydney office were among the hardest decisions they’ve ever faced. Despite praising the dedication of the XDefiant development team and their aspiration to compete with the top shooter games available, Guillemot acknowledged that it wasn’t quite enough in the end.
Guillemot extends his heartfelt appreciation to those who are being let go, assuring them that the company will make every effort to provide support during this challenging time for the affected employees.
Guillemot expressed that Ubisoft is encountering challenging periods, and he, along with his executive team, are actively seeking optimal strategies to preserve our autonomy. The dip in Ubisoft’s stock price earlier this year sparked speculation about potential acquisitions due to the lower company value.
In October, a report suggested that Ubisoft was discussing various possibilities with Tencent, such as privatization or acquisition of the company. As of now, no developments have arisen from these discussions. However, Guillemot’s statement about keeping “control over our own path” might hint at something brewing, or it could just be a figure of speech without any real meaning attached to it.
In a recent memo to our team, Guillemot expressed his commitment to putting forth every possible effort to restore our forward progress. This is crucial for us to maintain our prominent position in the gaming industry, becoming recognized as a creative force behind one-of-a-kind and exceptional video games.
In relation to Marie-Sophie de Waubert’s staff memo, it was made publicly available on Ubisoft’s website and provided further insights into the situation with XDefiant. She stated that while the game had a promising beginning, it struggled to draw and keep a sufficient number of players.
She stated that the game is currently not close enough to achieving the necessary outcomes for additional substantial funding, so we are going to discontinue it instead.
The executive further explained that although Ubisoft’s game XDefiant didn’t succeed as expected, they won’t abandon developing games-as-a-service titles. On the contrary, she emphasized that these types of games continue to be a key part of their strategy, pointing out successful examples like Rainbow Six, The Crew, and For Honor.
In a fiercely competitive industry, we plan to utilize the insights gained from XDefiant and apply them to our upcoming live games.
Ubisoft San Francisco created XDefiant, but due to its closure, approximately half of the team members are moving onto other tasks within Ubisoft. This multiplayer game was developed under the guidance of Call of Duty veteran Mark Rubin and debuted in May, immediately drawing in a large number of players. However, the initial excitement didn’t last, and on October 15, Rubin dismissed rumors about XDefiant shutting down after Season 4. In fact, he was already brainstorming ideas for the game’s second year’s content.
Additionally, De Waubert hinted at significant, infrastructure adjustments that Ubisoft plans to implement in the realms of production and business operations in the time ahead. On the other hand, Guillemot expressed in his memo that Ubisoft aims to minimize excessive procedures, enabling their team members to concentrate more on game development.
As a devoted admirer, I find myself reflecting on the recent job reductions at Ubisoft, which follow their earlier announced initiative aimed at reducing costs. This move has already led to over a thousand colleagues bidding farewell to the company.
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2024-12-04 17:39