Ubisoft has announced that it will close XDefiant in 2025, resulting in the closure of two production studios with layoffs affecting nearly 300 employees.
As shared in a blog post, Ubisoft’s head of studios and portfolio Marie-Sophie de Waubert said that XDefiant had not attracted or retained enough players to continue the live service title.
“The game is too far from achieving the results needed to allow for significant new investments,” Waubert said.
Its offices in San Francisco and Osaka will close and production will be reduced at its Sydney location. As a result, 277 people will be laid off.
Half of the XDefiant team will transition to “other roles within Ubisoft.” According to Insider gaming, a “skeleton team” will remain in place to run XDefiant until its servers shut down on June 3, 2025.
The third season is still ready for release, but starting today (December 4), new downloads, player registrations, and purchases will no longer be available.
Waubert added that Ubisoft will continue to “radically evolve [its] mentality for production and business practices” and will engage in “specific restructuring when necessary.”
Last month, Ubisoft’s Mark Rubin dismissed claims that XDefiant would be shut down after the game‘s fourth season.
As reported in its latest financial statements, Ubisoft is currently on a cost-cutting plan that has seen the company limit hiring, implemented targeted restructurings, and decrease external spending.
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