XDefiant was launched back in May and received a mixed reception from fans of Ubisoft. This mighty new arcade shooter was once heralded as the “CoD killer” with many saying it could become great given enough time. Unfortunately, it looks as though time has run out for XDefiant as it will be shutting down. It seems like this “Cod killer” could not handle the tough battlefield that is the gaming industry. In an official announcement, Mark Rubin made the call to pull the plug. Let’s break down everything you need to know about the announcement.
XDefiant is officially shutting down
Earlier today, Mark Rubin took to X to post an update about XDefiant. Unfortunately, it was not the update that many wanted to receive this holiday season. The post begins by saying, “I am unfortunately here today to announce that XDefiant will be shutting down.” Mark then went on to say that starting today, “new downloads and player registrations will no longer be available.” In other words, only those who have already registered in the game can continue to play it.
He continued the post by saying that the team “will still release our season 3 content in the near future” but no exact date was given. The servers will still remain active for some time but will officially be shutting down on June 3, 2025. Those who are enjoying the game will be able to continue to do so for six months. After that, the game will be taken offline.
XDefiant players will get a full refund
In the post, Mark Rubin stated that “those who purchased the Ultimate Founder’s Pack” will “receive a full refund.” Also, “players who made any purchases within the last 30 days will also be fully refunded.” These refunds will happen automatically within eight weeks of today (December 3, 2024). You can get more information about the refunds by going to XDefiant’s official website. Those who still have XCoins can use them to purchase in-game items but will no longer be able to purchase more coins.
A heartfelt goodbye
Mark Rubin ended the post by sharing some thoughts about the game and thanking all of those involved. He stated, “A few years ago, Ubisoft and the SF Dev team embarked on a bold adventure to develop a new arcade shooter called XDefiant. It was from the start, an incredible challenge. Not only were we trying to shake up the genre by removing Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) while bringing back a more “old-school” arcade shooter experience, but we were also diving into the high-risk, high-reward realm of free-to-play. And for that, I want to applaud not only the Dev team but also Ubisoft leadership for taking that chance!”
From the wording of the post, it seems as though the game just wasn’t profitable so Ubisoft decided to pull the plug on it. Mark stated, “Free-to-play, in particular, is a long journey. Many free-to-play games take a long time to find their footing and become profitable. It’s a long journey that Ubisoft and the teams working on the game were prepared to make until very recently. But unfortunately, the journey became too much to sensibly continue.”
