XDefiant devs respond to fans upset shutdown – “we threw everything and the kitchen sink”

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XDefiant attempted to take on Call of Duty with its own take on an arena shooter featuring simplistic mechanics fans had wanted to see in Activision’s shooter series. After initial success, interest in Ubisoft’s latest free-to-play game plummeted resulting in its eventual shutdown.

Ahead of its closure, Ubisoft has released XDefiant’s final update packed with new weaponry, maps, and Factions. After sharing the patch notes, developers revealed they threw everything and the kitchen sink into the update which contains content originally planned for future seasonal updates.

XDefiant devs put everything into final update

On December 18, Ubisoft unveiled its Season 3.0+ update featuring the Assassins faction offering players the opportunity to eliminate the opposition with a one-hit melee eliminations and the Wolves Faction which utilises drone technology to gain the upper hand during matches.

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Fans continuing to load into the action before the servers switch off have already given the update their seal of approval. “This season was about to be a game-changer, suits called it way too early,” says one fan.

The XDefiant X account responded stating it had “threw everything and the kitchen sink into this update for the people.”


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https://twitter.com/PlayXDefiant/status/1869394350263747003

Despite the best efforts of Ubisoft San Fransisco, it wasn’t enough for XDefiant to live on. The servers will close down in June 2025 giving players plenty of time to experience everything the Season 3.0+ update has to offer.

Could XDefiant have survived?

Although each XDefiant update contained plenty of new content, the netcode issues combined with missing its initial launch window when interest in rival shooters was at an all-time low were the final straws for the game. XDefiant had a chance to capitalise on a gap in the first-person shooter genre but managed to miss the mark.

There was always a chance of the game surviving the sudden decline in player count but with developers creating content for such a small number of players, it would never make financial sense for Ubisoft to continue supporting the project. For now, there are still several months for you to enjoy the game before it closes down for good.

About the Author

Jon Nicholson

Jon is a Freelance Writer for VideoGamer. When he's not obsessing over Call of Duty and Warzone, you can find him on the virtual racetrack sim racing.

XDefiant

  • Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
  • Genre(s): First-Person Shooter, Multiplayer, Shooter