Update: Ubisoft has now confirmed that XDefiant is set to be shut down with the initial sunsetting phase beginning on December 3, 2024 before Season 3 launches and takes the game until its closing date on June 3, 2025.
This has been elaborated on in a statement from executive producer Mark Rubin on X, where it also confirmed that anyone who purchased the Ultimate Founders Pack will receive a full refund.
Original: XDefiant started well for Ubisoft, but the joy didn’t last long and players quickly started to drop out as it failed to live up to expectations in several ways. Since then, Ubisoft has been trying to bring it back to life, but so far without success.
Now, the very reliable Insider Gaming reports that the game’s days are numbered. During a meeting earlier today, the decision was made to retire the game in June 2025, just 14 months after it was originally released.
As you can imagine, the failure will have consequences and Ubisoft’s studios in Osaka and San Francisco are expected to be hit hard with a total of 170-180 losing their jobs. Season three will thus be the game’s last entire season and it will be run with a skeleton crew until the game is shut down.
Sad of course, but we have reported several times during the autumn about the problems Ubisoft had with XDefiant, where developers and publishers have shown their support for the game. Now, this is not an official confirmation yet, but Insider Gaming has such a good track record that it is unfortunately difficult to be optimistic here.