All articles tagged with #xdefiant
Ubisoft reportedly laid off dozens at its San Francisco studio as part of a broader restructuring that has already closed Winnipeg and Belgrade, with up to 380 roles at risk worldwide; estimates suggest 50-100 SF jobs affected, continuing a multi-studio consolidation that included 45 cuts at SF and Red Storm Entertainment in 2024.
Mark Rubin, who led XDefiant’s development, says a comeback isn’t ruled out but would be Ubisoft’s call, noting the fast-paced shooter had strong gunplay but launched with content gaps; Rubin left the industry after XDefiant’s 2025 shutdown, while Ubisoft has other projects in the works, leaving open the possibility of a revival.
Ubisoft's free-to-play shooter XDefiant is shutting down, marking another setback for the company in a challenging year. Despite initial plans for continued development, low player counts and strategic missteps, such as not launching on Steam, led to its closure. This reflects broader difficulties in the competitive multiplayer shooter market, where new games struggle to compete with established titles like Fortnite and Call of Duty. Ubisoft's struggles in 2024 also include underperforming titles and financial challenges, further compounding its woes.
Ubisoft will sunset its game XDefiant in 2025, leading to the closure of its San Francisco and Osaka studios and affecting nearly 300 employees. The decision comes as the game failed to attract enough players to justify further investment. While some team members will transition to other roles within Ubisoft, a small team will maintain XDefiant until its servers shut down in June 2025. This move is part of Ubisoft's broader cost reduction strategy, which includes targeted restructuring and reduced external spending.
Ubisoft announced it will shut down its free-to-play shooter XDefiant by June 2025, leading to the closure of its San Francisco and Osaka studios and laying off nearly 300 employees. Despite initial success, the game failed to maintain a sufficient player base, prompting the decision. Players will receive refunds for certain purchases, and remaining team members will transition to other roles within Ubisoft. The company continues to focus on its games-as-a-service strategy despite recent financial challenges.
Ubisoft has announced the shutdown of its free-to-play FPS game XDefiant, despite previous assurances from its executive producer that the game was not dying. The game, which launched in May after delays and received positive reviews, will cease new player registrations and downloads immediately, with servers remaining active until June 2025. The closure is part of a broader restructuring at Ubisoft, affecting studios in San Francisco, Osaka, and Sydney, and resulting in around 270 layoffs. XDefiant's executive producer expressed pride in the team's efforts despite the game's closure.
Ubisoft has announced the shutdown of its free-to-play shooter XDefiant, which launched earlier this year. Despite initial success with over 10 million players in its first two weeks, the game failed to maintain momentum, leading to its closure. Ubisoft will refund players who purchased the Ultimate Founders Pack and recent VC and DLC. The shutdown will also result in job losses, with the closure of Ubisoft's San Francisco and Osaka studios and a reduction in Sydney, affecting 277 employees.
Ubisoft has announced that its Forward showcase will take place on June 10th at 12 pm PDT, featuring in-depth looks at upcoming games like Assassin's Creed Shadows, Star Wars Outlaws, and XDefiant.
XDefiant, Ubisoft's latest multiplayer shooter, offers fast-paced combat and interesting hero shooter-like abilities but suffers from lackluster progression, questionable netcode, and missing features. The game features five factions from various Ubisoft properties, but the characters lack distinct traits. Despite well-designed maps, the game feels incomplete and fails to stand out in the competitive shooter market.
An XDefiant producer agrees with the sentiment that if players never find "easy enemies" in the shooter without skill-based matchmaking, it indicates they are the "easy enemy" and have room for improvement. This perspective suggests that improving one's gameplay will be more rewarding over time.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and Ubisoft's XDefiant have surged into the top five of the latest Xbox gameplay chart, with Hellblade 2 debuting at fourth and XDefiant at fifth. The chart, which typically sees little change at the top, now has Minecraft in second place, pushing Call of Duty to third. Other notable movements include GTA V rising to eighth and Forza Horizon 5 climbing to 12th. The chart reflects gameplay data from over 2.4 million active Xbox accounts.
XDefiant, Ubisoft's latest game, has reached approximately 7.6 million unique players in its first week, with expectations to hit 8 million by the end of the day. The game saw 1 million unique players in its first 2.5 hours and 3 million within 48 hours. Despite surpassing its internal goal of 5 million unique players in the first month, developers emphasize that concurrent player data, which peaked at 700,000, is a more critical metric for long-term success.
Despite Ubisoft removing skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) from XDefiant, players are still frustrated, encountering highly skilled opponents and "sweaty lobbies." Some believe SBMM is still present, while others struggle after leaving the beginner-friendly welcome playlist. Ubisoft has not announced plans to reintroduce SBMM, focusing instead on fixing hit registration issues.
This guide compares the two sniper rifles in XDefiant, the M44 and the TAC-50, to help players choose the best one for their playstyle. The M44 is ideal for patient, defensive snipers who prefer precision and power, while the TAC-50 suits aggressive players who favor a faster firing rate and dynamic gameplay. Ultimately, the best sniper depends on individual preferences.
The M16A4 in XDefiant is a versatile weapon suitable for various situations. The best loadout includes the Muzzle Booster for increased fire rate, Chrome Lined Barrel for short to medium-range damage, Superlight Front Rail for improved ADS speed, Reflex Sight for better targeting, and Padded Stock for enhanced accuracy and recoil control. This setup maximizes the weapon's performance, making it easier to secure kills.