By Sagar V. Mankar 
Ubisoft has officially announced the shutdown of its free-to-play shooter XDefiant, a game once hyped as a potential “COD killer.” The company confirmed that while servers will remain operational until June 3, 2025, new downloads and player registrations were discontinued on December 3, 2024. Existing players will receive the game’s third season content soon, providing a final update before the game fully sunsets. However, this decision comes with significant consequences, including the closure of Ubisoft’s two studios – San Francisco and Osaka production studios and a downsizing of the Sydney office, resulting in layoffs for a total of 277 employees.
Marie-Sophie de Waubert, Ubisoft’s Chief Studios, and Portfolio Officer, explained in an internal email that XDefiant struggled to sustain a large enough player base to compete in the highly competitive free-to-play FPS market. Despite an initially promising launch, XDefiant failed to achieve the results necessary to justify continued investment. De Waubert emphasized that while the closure is a difficult decision, Ubisoft remains committed to its broader strategy of developing live-service games, citing successes like Rainbow Six, The Crew, and For Honor.
Players who purchased the $69.99 Ultimate Founder’s Pack or made purchases within the last 30 days will receive full refunds, according to Executive Producer Mark Rubin. Refunds are expected to be processed automatically within eight weeks. However, Ubisoft clarified that certain packs, such as the Founder’s Pack Elite, are not eligible for refunds.
When it first launched in May 2024, the game made quite a splash. Within two and a half hours, the game reached 1 million players, exceeding 8 million unique players in its first week. However, the initial hype didn’t last long. By August, reports indicated that the game’s player base had dropped significantly, with concurrent players dwindling to fewer than 20,000. A decline in player spending further compounded the game’s struggles.
Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson reported in August that the game was “on borrowed time,” with Ubisoft San Francisco under pressure to improve player numbers by the end of Season 3. In response, Rubin denied these claims of games’ “dying,’ sharing a roadmap that promised new content, including factions, weapons, maps, and events. He also acknowledged technical issues, such as hit registration problems, and assured fans that Ubisoft had hired “specialized engineers” to address them.
Ultimately, these efforts were not enough to sustain the game. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot acknowledged during a September investor call that the game did not meet expectations. Rubin later attributed the drop in player numbers to limited marketing efforts, which aimed to refine the game before expanding its audience.
The closure of XDefiant adds to Ubisoft’s recent challenges, including a 20% decline in overall sales, underperformance of other major titles, and cost-cutting measures that reduced the workforce by over 2,000 employees in the past two years. Nevertheless, Ubisoft remains optimistic about its live-service model, aiming to apply lessons from XDefiant to future projects.
The decision to sunset XDefiant highlights the risks and challenges of the free-to-play market, where competition is fierce and long-term success often requires significant and sustained investment.
Sources: Ubisoft press release, Insider Gaming