In April 2024, Ubisoft announced the open beta for its free-to-play first-person shooter, XDefiant. Following a positive reception from the players and praise for its fast-paced combat, the game went live in May 2024.
Fascinatingly, within a month of its initial release, XDefiant secured 11 million players worldwide. This high player count could be attributed to free-to-play release for all platforms and its close resemblance to Call of Duty. XDefiant even integrated Ubisoft’s Far Cry, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell mechanisms.
In its first update in July, Ubisoft announced the GSK faction from its Rainbow Six characters, hinting at the two’s collaboration. With the commitment to regular updates, developers released new maps, characters, game modes, and an event every three months.
However, XDefiant’s journey wasn’t straightforward. The developer team tried to introduce Skill-Based Matchmaking and an arcade shooting experience. Similarly, the team was also heading toward a high-risk, high-reward realm of free-to-play.
The major problem with free-to-play games is the long time it takes to build a profitable base. The team worked on this until recently, but it appears that the finances became too sensible.
Despite being available only for 8 months, Ubisoft has now announced XDefiant’s end of development and shutting down. Starting today, new downloads or registrations won’t be available. Though the Season will be released soon, the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025.
Those who purchased the Ultimate Founders Pack, VC, and DLC since November 3rd, 2024, will get refunds. It is important to note that the complete processing will take up to 8 weeks.
As for the in-game currencies, players can still use the remaining XCoins to redeem content in the game. If you have uninstalled the game, you can reinstall it to play Season 3.
Executive Producer Mark Rubin thanked their players, “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.“
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