Ubisoft's first-person shooter XDefiant, which launched less than six months ago to some success, will close on June 3, 2025. As part of that, the studio will close three production studios and lay off 277 employees.
New downloads, player registrations and purchases will no longer be available starting today. However, Season 3 will launch as planned and the servers will remain online until June 3. Players who purchased the Ultimate Founders Pack or purchased anything in the last 30 days will automatically receive full refunds within eight weeks.
“Despite an encouraging start, passionate team work and a committed fan base, we have not been able to attract and retain enough long-term players to compete at the level we seek in the demanding free-to-play FPS market,” said Marie -Sophie de Waubert, Director of Studies and Portfolio Manager at Ubisoft.
Ubisoft confirmed it will close its Osaka and San Francisco studios while downsizing its Sydney site. This will result in the loss of 277 jobs, or just over half of the XDefiant team, with the other half moving to other parts of the company. “I want to express my deepest gratitude for your work and contributions. Please know that we are committed to supporting you during this transition,” de Waubert told the outgoing employees.
At one time, XDefiant was Ubisoft's fastest-growing game, reaching 5 million users before any of its other titles and eventually counting up to 15 million players. However, he was unable to build on that success and last month, rumors began to circulate that XDefiant would be closed. “The game is too far from achieving the necessary results to allow significant new investments,” de Waubert said yesterday.
Ubisoft has been going through a rough patch lately. The company recently canceled The Division: Heartland before its launch and delay Assassin's Creed Shadows until Valentine's Day 2025, after a disappointing launch for Star Wars Outlaws. Last year, the company canceled three unannounced projects and began a restructuring program that led to more than a thousand layoffs.
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