xDefiant: Ubisoft's F2P Shooter Closes Amid Studio Cuts

Ubisoft has announced the closure of XDefiant's servers in June 2025, marking the end of its journey as a free-to-play shooter. Dive deeper to understand the implications of this decision and what it means for the game's community.

XDefiant is Shutting Down its Servers on June 2025

“Sunset” Process Initiating

Ubisoft has set June 3, 2025, as the official shutdown date for XDefiant's servers, marking the conclusion of its brief tenure as a free-to-play shooter. The "sunset" process will commence on December 3, 2024, preventing new downloads, registrations, and purchases of the game and its DLCs. Ubisoft has also committed to processing refunds for in-game purchases.

"For those who purchased the Ultimate Founders Pack, you will receive a full refund. Additionally, players who have made VC and DLC purchases since November 3rd, 2024, will also be fully refunded. Please note that processing these refunds will take up to 8 weeks."

Players should expect their refunds by January 28, 2025. If a refund is not received by this date, players are encouraged to reach out to Ubisoft for further assistance. Notably, only the Ultimate Founder’s Pack qualifies for a refund; the Founder’s Pack and Founder’s Pack Elite do not.

Why is Ubisoft Shutting Down XDefiant?

Marie-Sophie Waubert, Ubisoft’s Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer, explained the decision to shut down XDefiant in a blog post dated December 4, citing the game's inability to meet the competitive demands of the free-to-play market.

"Despite an encouraging start, the team’s passionate work, and a committed fan base, we’ve not been able to attract and retain enough players in the long run to compete at the level we aim for in the very demanding free-to-play FPS market," she stated. "As a result, the game is too far away from reaching the results required to enable further significant investment, and we are announcing that we will be sunsetting it."

Half of the Team Transitioning to Other Roles

The decision affects the XDefiant team significantly, with half of its members leaving Ubisoft, while the rest will transition to other roles within the company. Additionally, the game's development studios in San Francisco and Osaka will close, and the Sydney site will downsize, resulting in the departure of 143 employees in San Francisco and 134 in Osaka and Sydney.

"Almost half of the XDefiant team worldwide will be transitioning to other roles within Ubisoft," Waubert stated. "This decision also leads to the closing of our San Francisco and Osaka production studios and to the ramp down of our Sydney production site."

Ubisoft has previously reduced its workforce, letting go of 45 employees across its American studios in San Francisco, California, and North Carolina on August 16, 2024, and 33 employees in Ubisoft Toronto. The company is offering severance packages and career assistance to support those affected.

Leaving the Game on a Positive Note

Despite its initial success, with 5 million users shortly after its May 21, 2024 launch and a total of 15 million players, XDefiant did not meet Ubisoft's profitability targets, leading to its shutdown.

"Free-to-play, in particular, is a long journey. Many free-to-play games take a long time to find their footing and become profitable," said XDefiant’s Executive Producer Mark Rubin. "It’s a long journey that Ubisoft and the teams working on the game were prepared to make until very recently. But unfortunately, the journey became too much to sensibly continue."

Rubin, however, leaves on a positive note, expressing gratitude to the game's community.

"To our players, THANK YOU! From the bottom of my heart, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the incredible community that has grown around XDefiant. Your passion, creativity, and dedication have inspired us every step of the way."

Season 3 is Still Releasing Amidst Shutdown Announcement

Though XDefiant's servers are set to close in June 2025, Season 3 is slated for release as planned. While specific details about Season 3 are scarce, speculation points to content inspired by the Assassin’s Creed series.

According to XDefiant’s Year 1 Roadmap from September 2024, Season 3 promises new factions, weapons, maps, modes, and more. However, access to this season will be limited to players who purchased the game before December 3, 2024, due to the ongoing "sunset process."

This roadmap blog post has since been replaced by the shutdown announcement, titled "Our Message to Players."

Ubisoft Pulling the Plug on XDefiant Reported Early On

Reports from Insider Gaming on August 29, 2024, suggested XDefiant was struggling with low player counts, a claim denied by Rubin in the game’s Year 1 Roadmap blog post. However, Ubisoft's recent announcement confirms these concerns.

"Is the game dying? No, the game is absolutely not dying," Rubin had claimed. "We know there are things we need to improve, like Netcode/Hitreg and adding more content to progression, but the game is doing well."

Sources had indicated that XDefiant's executives were heavily banking on Season 3 to revive interest. However, the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 between XDefiant’s Season 2 and Season 3 may have further impacted player engagement. Ultimately, Ubisoft chose to end the game's run before the launch of Season 3.