Ubisoft is shutting down XDefiant and laying off the game's developers
Ubisoft has announced its decision to shut down XDefiant. The shooter has already disabled new user registrations and the ability to make in-game purchases with real money, and its servers will cease operations on June 3, 2025.
XDefiant
In a message to investors, Ubisoft explained that this decision came after analyzing the “performance and profitability of the game, as well as market conditions.” The company acknowledged that while XDefiant created a buzz at launch, it failed to attract a sufficiently large player base to achieve success.
Ubisoft emphasized that the development of live service games will remain a key part of its business strategy, but it intends to learn from the failure of XDefiant.
Alongside XDefiant, the company has decided to close its studios in San Francisco and Osaka. It will also downsize a portion of the team in its Sydney studio. In total, 277 people, or about half of the XDefiant team, will lose their jobs. The remaining developers will transition to other departments.
Recall that XDefiant was released on May 21, 2024. Hence, by the time of closure, the game will have existed for just over a year. According to Ubisoft's estimates, the current audience for the shooter is 15 million people.
