Ubisoft disconnects its Call of Duty multi-competitor game, new c

New blow for Ubisoft, which has had a series of disappointments in recent times: its game XDefiant will unfortunately bow out within a few months. Released in May 2024 after two years of beta, XDefiant is quite simply Ubisoft’s latest attempt to offer a multi FPS, in order to ride on the unprecedented success of Activision’s Call of Duty. The French publisher even went so far as to hire Mark Rubin, the former flagship producer of the Call of Duty license, to try to attract the public who nevertheless responded en masse to the launch, with no less than 8 million unique players in just one week. Unfortunately, technical hiccups multiplied and the Ubisoft San Francisco teams were unable to meet the expectations of players who quickly deserted the servers. Last September, Mark Rubin denied the slow death of his game, saying that XDefiant was not dying, that he was aware of areas to improve and that he would respond to the community’s requests. The latter will have finally proven the rumors right, since XDefiant will cease its activities as of June 2025.

A message on the official website allows us to understand the extent of the failure, especially since the game had difficulty generating in-game revenue, with cosmetic bonuses that did not appeal to players. This note, written by Marie-Sophie de Waubert, Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer, reveals that the shutdown of the game will lead to the closure of two studios, Ubisoft San Francisco and Ubisoft Osaka, placing 277 people out of work. The Ubisoft Sydney studio which also participated in the development of XDefiant will be reorganized, but layoffs are also expected.

Unfortunately, the shutdown of of our production studios in San Francisco and Osaka and the reduction of activities at our production site in Sydney, with 143 departures in San Francisco and 134 departures probable 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.

Faced with such a sudden closure, Mark Rubin promises that all Ultimate Founder packs will be refunded, as will purchases made in the last 30 days.