Ubisoft Is Shutting Down XDefiant, Resulting In Layoffs Across Its San Francisco, Osaka And Sydney Sites

Ubisoft has announced that it will discontinue development on its free-to-play multiplayer shooter, XDefiant, with the game’s servers closing on June 3, 2025. Due to this closure, Ubisoft is instituting layoffs that will affect 277 employees across the San Francisco and Osaka studios and the Sydney Ubisoft office.

An internal email from Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer Marie-Sophie de Waubert was sent to Ubisoft employees today and later published on Ubisoft’s website, which announced the closure plans for XDefiant and the ramifications of that decision for staff. According to the email, the decision was made to shutter the first-person shooter because it has “not been able to attract and retain enough players in the long run to compete at the level we aim for in the very demanding free-to-play FPS market.”

The closure process begins today, with new downloads and registrations being pulled and all in-game purchases being disabled. The game will remain playable until June 3, 2025, for those who currently own it, at which point the servers will be taken offline.

There is a real human cost involved with XDefiant shutting down. The email says that roughly half of the game’s development team will be reorganised into other projects and roles, but many will laid off. Ubisoft will be closing its San Francisco studio, resulting in 143 jobs being lost, while also closing the Osaka studio and commencing a “ramp down” of the Sydney office, which will collectively see another 134 without a job.

While enjoyable on some levels, XDefiant faced a steep climb to relevancy from the beginning. Releasing in May of this year, the competitive shooter brought various Ubisoft properties together in a squad-based shooter setting that seemingly wanted to be the free-to-play alternative to Call of Duty. We lamented in our fairly positive review that the game lacked a clear identity and was let down by its monetisation model.

It’s never a good time to be told you’re losing your job, but it’s particularly difficult during the holiday season. The WellPlayed team sends our best wishes to all Ubisoft staff affected by this decision.