XDefiant is being shut down by Ubisoft, "despite an encouraging start"

"We will still release our Season 3 content in the near future (exact date TBD), and the servers will remain active until 3rd June 2025.

"For those who purchased the Ultimate Founder’s Pack, you’ll receive a full refund. Players who made any purchases within the last 30 days will also be fully refunded. Those refunds should happen automatically within eight weeks of today and you can find more details on our official website, XDefiant.com."

Rubin added: "I am, of course, heartbroken to have to be writing this post. Yes, this game has been a personal passion for me for years and yes, I know that not all challenges lead to victory, but I also want to recognise all of the developers who are being affected by this closure.

"Each and every one of them is a real person with a real life separate from our own, and they have all put so much of their own passion into making this game. And I hope that they can be proud of what they did achieve.

"I know that I will always be proud and grateful to have worked with such a great team! A team that really punched above its weight class."

Unfortunately, the game’s closure is leading to more lay-offs within the industry, with the San Francisco and Osaka studios being shut down and the Sydney studio being downsized. This means 277 jobs will be lost in the process.

The chief studios officer, Marie-Sophie de Waubert, added, "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."

The game’s first season of live content launched in July, with the second arriving in September. There were plans for two more seasons in the roadmap, but now the game will end with Season 3.

XDefiant’s closure comes at a difficult time for the French studio after Star Wars Outlaws underperformed and Assassin’s Creed Shadows was delayed until February next year.

A Change.org petition has already been set up for fans of the game to garner enough attention from Ubisoft to prevent the game from being shut down. If interested, you can sign the petition now and hopefully keep the game alive.

With this game coming to a close, it’s essential to support the titles you love, so be sure to check out Marvel Rivals and Indiana Jones when they release soon, as well as smaller games that giant companies don’t back.

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