*Please note that this post was shared internally with all Ubisoft teams prior to its publication on Ubisoft.com. *

Today I wanted to share with you that we have made the difficult decision to cease development on XDefiant.

Despite an encouraging start, the passionate work of the team and a dedicated fan base, we have not managed to attract and retain enough players in the long term to compete at the desired level in the very demanding free-to-play FPS market . Therefore, the game is still too far from the results required to support further significant investment and we announce that we are discontinuing it.

Specifically, this means that as of today, new downloads, player registrations and purchases will no longer be possible. Season 3 will continue to launch and the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025, in gratitude to both our development teams who worked on it and the active players of XDefiant.

Unfortunately, XDefiant’s cancellation has dire consequences for the teams working on the game. Although nearly half of the XDefiant team worldwide will be moving to other roles within Ubisoft, this decision also results in the closure of our production studios in San Francisco and Osaka and the reduction of our production base in Sydney, with 143 employees leaving San Francisco and 134 people are expected to depart from Osaka and Sydney. To the team members leaving Ubisoft, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for their work and contributions. Please know that we want to support you through this transition.

Developing games-as-a-service experiences remains a pillar of our strategy and we have achieved significant successes, including with Rainbow Six, The Crew and For Honor. It is a highly competitive market and we will continue to build on the lessons learned with XDefiant apply to our future live titles.

Globally, we are committed to taking the necessary steps to put the company back on the path of growth, innovation and creativity and to ensure we can set you up for success. This means we continue to radically evolve our thinking around production and business practices, which we will share more about shortly, and make targeted restructurings where necessary. I know the situation brings questions and expectations, and we will provide regular and transparent updates.

My sincere thanks for your continued commitment as we navigate these difficult times together.

Marie-Sophie de Waubert, Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer