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MYSTERIOUS: Xdefiant - What They Never Told You

XDefiant was originally going to be a new Splinter Cell, according to former Ubisoft devs who went on to make Dispatch, but the publisher changed plans to chase those big Call of Duty bucks

"We thought we were going to be able to make something really great."

PC Gamer

Ubisoft turned a new Splinter Cell game into the failed live-service shooter xDefiant in an effort to chase live service hits and Call of Duty, former devs say

"You realize that all of the things you care about, they don't anymore"

GamesRadar

XDefiant is now ex-Defiant as the game closes and its executive producer leaves Ubisoft: 'We just didn't have the gas to go the distance'

"We saw a lot of reactions from other games to what we were doing and that to me speaks volumes."

PC Gamer

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

XDefiant, the once-touted ‘CoD killer,’ shuts down tonight. Here’s how Ubisoft’s shooter totally misfired

The free-to-play shooter only lasted just over a year.

Destructoid

'Be more like Larian, less like Activision': Ex-Call of Duty producer takes his old employer to task for prioritizing FOMO over quality

The XDefiant producer and former face of Call of Duty has some thoughts on CoD's live service shift.

PC Gamer

Ubisoft had an absolutely dire 2024 and desperately needs a win

And I'm not convinced Assassin's Creed Shadows is going to be it.

PC Gamer

XDefiant's closing-down content dump is enormous, unprecedented, and bleak

It turns out that the game criticised for lack of content had tons of content all along.

PC Gamer

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XDefiant just put out an absolutely massive patch featuring 3 new factions and more for a game you can't even download now

Ubisoft's FPS takes its last breath

GamesRadar

Gaming's Worst Trend Came To A Head In 2024

Chasing trends produced some of the industry's biggest flops ever.

Inverse

Ubisoft buyout talks are reportedly progressing, but there's one small hitch: The Guillemot family wants to stay in charge, but Tencent isn't so sure about that

The Guillemots founded Ubisoft in 1986, and they're not ready to let go.

PC Gamer

Spotify Wrapped Flops And Marvel Rivals Drops: This Week’s Tech & Gaming News

We're back with another week of tech and gaming news, ft Spotify Wrapped flopping on launch and Marvel's big new co-op shooter.

Pedestrian.tv

Far Cry Publisher's Latest Game Flop Had a Cool Idea Worth a Second Look

Troubled game publisher Ubisoft announced that its competitive free-to-play shooter XDefiant will shut down after just six months. The decision to pull the plug will have impacts far beyond the game’s diminishing player base, as Ubisoft will shutting down both its Osaka and San Francisco offices, resulting in 277 layoffs.

Inverse

Ubisoft Plans To Discontinue 'XDefiant' in 2025, Lay Off Half of Development Team

Ubisoft announced that it is shutting down XDefiant and noted that servers will remain open until June 3, 2025.

Player One

Ubisoft loses faith in free-to-play CoD competitor XDefiant, will shut it down in 2025: 'Many free-to-play games take a long time to find their footing and become profitable'

XDefiant is no longer accessible to new players, and recent purchases will be refunded.

PC Gamer

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Windows Central

Ubisoft continues freefall as publisher shutters free-to-play shooter XDefiant, reportedly closing studios

Ubisoft is shutting down free-to-play shooter XDefiant, with the game remaining playable for existing players until June 2025.

GamesRadar

XDefiant is shutting down as Ubisoft closes San Francisco and Osaka offices following "long journey" of free-to-play struggles, up to 177 devs impacted

Season 3 is still coming out and servers will stay online until June

TechRadar

Ubisoft insists xDefiant is "not dying" but acknowledges it needs improvements

Ubisoft says the multiplayer shooter is "doing well"

Player One

'XDefiant' Update: Ubisoft Claims Its Shooter is 'Absolutely Not Dying' as Season 2 Approaches

XDefiant executive producer Mark Rubin pushes back against claims that Ubisoft's free-to-play first-person shooter is dying.

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news in one place.

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PC Gamer

'The game is absolutely not dying': XDefiant boss rejects claims that Ubisoft's shooter is struggling to find players

Executive producer Mark Rubin says XDefiant is doing just fine, thank you very much.

PC Gamer

Ubisoft's slump continues: Star Wars Outlaws fails to turn things around, XDefiant numbers are sliding, and we still don't know where The Sands of Time is

Despite high hopes for its open-world Star Wars game, Ubisoft's share price is now sitting at a 10-year low.

PC Gamer

XDefiant will get team deathmatch in 'a couple weeks' because we hassled them about it lots

XDefiant will bend to the united will of us basic FPS players.

Sports Illustrated

What is BattlEye Anti-Cheat in XDefiant?

XDefiant appears to have a cheater problem, so how does BattlEye actually work?

Windows Central

I can't stop playing XDefiant, and neither have thousands of other players.

XDefiant dropped last week, and I haven't been able to stop playing. To the point that I said I'd write this piece 5 days ago, but could barely pull myself away to do it.

GamesRadar

XDefiant dev agrees that with no SBMM, if you're not finding "easy enemies" in Ubisoft's shooter, it's because you are the easy enemy

And there's room for improvement

PC Gamer

If you never get an easy opponent in XDefiant, you're the easy opponent, suggests producer

The free-to-play shooter mostly doesn't use skill-based matchmaking in its casual playlists.

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