Ubisoft Officially Ends xDefiant: Layoffs Predicted

This is mind-blowing.

Ubisoft’s situation has been rather tumultuous this year. There’s been a whirlwind of strikes and legal actions, workforce reductions, misguided remarks, and efforts to have Steam conceal player figures. Not to mention whisperings around the idea of privatising the company which have dominated the news in 2023 and 2024.

As Game File reporter Stephen Totilo reveals, this pattern continues. Totilo discloses that Ubisoft plans to lay off more personnel which is estimated to be around 277 employees. Focusing on Ubisoft offices in San Francisco and Osaka, these divisions will be reducing or suspending their production facilities. Notably, half of the xDefiant team will get reassigned to different projects.

But hold on, didn’t the team just refute the gossip that xDefiant was dwindling and was only given until season 3 to recover? That’s right, they did. Still, in my report on their affirmation that the game isn’t declining, I noted that they did not expressly debunk the “season 3” deadline rumors; they merely said the game was not on the decline.

As it turns out, things may finish sooner than expected…kind of.

xDefiant is concluding. If you have not registered as a player yet, it’s now too late. Registration is no longer open. Those with registered accounts can keep playing the game (including the impending Season 3, exact date to be announced) until the servers completely shut down on June 3rd, 2025. No further content will be added post the Season 3 launch, and there will be no “offline” option after June.

If you made purchases on VC or DLC after November 3rd, you will be eligible for refunds. The Ultimate Founder’s Pack buyers will receive full refunds as well. Refund processing can take up to 8 weeks. Visit the complete FAQ to verify your refund eligibility.

So much for Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillmont’s visions of making the shooter a “legitimate esport,” which he mentioned just half a year ago.

Mark Rubin, xDefiant’s Executive Director who asserted that the game was not declining, attributes the long timeframe for F2P games to establish themselves and turn a profit as the primary reason for the closure. Rubin suggests that until recently, Ubisoft was willing to ride this risk. Rubin expresses his gratitude to the team and the players and hopes Ubisoft will learn valuable lessons about the importance of transparency between developers and players, a quality he believes was a key aspect for xDefiant.

I’m not entirely on board with his perspective. Of course, transparency has its merits, but I wouldn’t necessarily consider xDefiant as an excellent representation of this attribute. I mean, undoubtedly, the team had already been aware of the sunsetting decision when the rumors started to circulate…yet, they attempted to dismiss it as merely hearsay without explicitly denying it. But I digress…

In his concluding remarks, Rubin expresses, “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.”