Ubisoft stops development on XDefiant

*Please note – this post was shared internally with all Ubisoft teams before being published on Ubisoft.com. *

Today I wanted to share with you that we have made the difficult decision to stop development on XDefiant.

Despite an encouraging start, the passionate work of the team and a committed fan base, we have 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. As a result, the game is too far away from achieving the necessary results to enable further significant investment, and we are announcing that we will trigger it.

Specifically, this means that starting today, new downloads, player registrations and purchases will no longer be available. Season 3 will still launch and the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025, out of appreciation for both our development teams who worked on it and for XDefiant’s active players.

Unfortunately, the discontinuation of XDefiant brings difficult consequences for the teams working on this game. Although almost half of the XDefiant team worldwide will move to other roles at Ubisoft, this decision also leads to the closure of our production studios in San Francisco and Osaka and to the downsizing of our production site in Sydney, where 143 people traveling from San. Francisco and 134 people are likely to depart in Osaka and Sydney. To the team members who are leaving Ubisoft, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your work and contributions. Please know that we are committed to supporting you during this transition.

Developing Games-as-a-Service experiences remains a pillar of our strategy and we have achieved significant successes such as Rainbow Six, The Crew and For Honor among others. It is a highly competitive market and we will apply the lessons learned from XDefiant to our future live titles.

Globally, we are determined to take the necessary steps to put the business back on a path to growth, innovation and creativity and ensure that we can set you up for success. This means that we continue to radically evolve our thinking about production and business practices, which we will share more about soon, and make targeted restructurings when necessary. I know the situation brings questions and expectations, and we will share regular and transparent updates.

My sincere thanks for your continued commitment as we navigate these trying times together.

Marie-Sophie de Waubert, Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer