Hello XDefiant fans,

Unfortunately I have to announce here today that XDefiant is being shut down.

As of today (December 3, 2024), new downloads and player registrations will no longer be available. We will be releasing our Season 3 content in the near future (exact date to be announced) and the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025.

For those who purchased the Ultimate Founder’s Pack, you will receive a full refund. Players who made purchases within the last 30 days will also receive a full refund. These refunds should be made automatically within 8 weeks from today. For more details, visit our official website XDefiant.com.

A few years ago, Ubisoft and the SF Dev team embarked on a bold adventure to create a new arcade shooter called XDefiant. It was an incredible challenge from the start. Not only have we tried to shake up the genre by removing Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) to bring back an “old school” arcade shooter experience, but we’ve also moved into the high-risk, high-reward realm of free-to-play advanced -to-play. And for that I would like to thank not only the development team, but also the Ubisoft leadership for seizing this opportunity!

Free-to-play in particular is a long way off. Many free-to-play games take a long time to gain traction and become profitable. It’s a long journey that Ubisoft and the teams working on the game were prepared to take until recently. But unfortunately the journey became too much to continue sensibly.

Of course it breaks my heart to have to write this post. Yes, this game has been a personal passion of mine for years and yes, I know that not all challenges lead to victory, but I also want to pay tribute to all the developers affected by this closure. Every single one of them is a real person with a real life separate from our own, and they all put so much passion into making this game. And I hope they can be proud of what they have achieved. I know that I will always be proud and grateful to have worked with such an amazing team! A team that truly punched above their weight class.

And what they have achieved is truly remarkable. The initial reaction from players when we launched XDefiant was amazing – we broke internal records for the fastest game with over 5 million users and ended up with over 15 million players playing our game! That’s something to be very proud of, especially considering how hard this genre is. So thank you to all the developers who put their passion into developing this game!

If there’s one thing I hope we can all take away from this experience, it’s the importance of open, honest communication between developers and players. This player-first mentality, along with respectful, non-toxic conversations between developers and players, was one of the standout differences that made XDefiant so special. This was the vision I wanted to represent in my very first post about XDefiant, and I hope it leaves a positive impression on how the gaming industry treats its players and communities.

To our players, THANK YOU! From the bottom of my heart, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the incredible community that has emerged around XDefiant. Your passion, creativity and commitment have inspired us every step of the way.

With the utmost love and respect,

Mark Rubin, Executive Producer, XDefiant