XDefiant is in trouble, but how much? (Ubisoft)
After a report claimed Ubisoft’s shooter was facing closure, an XDefiant producer has said there’s ‘no plans’ to stop making new content.
While XDefiant had a strong launch when it came out in May, interest around the shooter has notably dipped over recent months.
This was acknowledged by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot last month, when he described the shooter as being ‘behind expectations’ in an earnings call. This was after a report which said XDefiant is ‘struggling to obtain 20,000 concurrent players across all platforms’, with layoffs feared at the studio.
As concerns continue to grow around XDefiant’s future, a developer behind the game has now stated there are ‘no plans’ for the shooter to end after its upcoming fourth season.
In a post on Twitter, Mark Rubin, executive producer on XDefiant at Ubisoft San Francisco, wrote: ‘To be crystal clear there are NO plans to shut down after season four. I’ve literally been in meetings as of last week to discuss our Year 2 plans. But, right now we are super focused on improving the technical experience (which includes netcode) and adding more content for seasons three and four.
‘We have done very little marketing so yes our numbers are down but that is just to give the team the time to get the game in a better place before we do bigger spends on marketing to bring new players to the game and to bring back players that have left.’
The statement was spurred by insider Shaun Weber, who claimed on Twitter that ‘it’s possible’ that XDefiant ‘will end its support after season four if they can’t get enough players’.
XDefiant is about to get a big marketing bump, apparently (Twitter)
While Rubin was responding to these claims, he doesn’t outright debunk them. Ubisoft San Francisco will obviously be working on updates to try and get more players into XDefiant, but as we’ve seen with many live service games these plans can quickly change if the amount of players doesn’t increase to make continued investment worthwhile.
Rubin’s statement suggests XDefiant will be sticking around for the near future at least, but some insiders have raised eyebrows over its future prospects.
Weber has since accused Rubin of ‘lying’ and ‘misrepresenting the game’s status to appeal to investors’, while Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson has backed up Weber’s original claims on Twitter.
The community note is laughable. Planning year 2 at this stage in budget meetings is pretty standard and doesn't guarantee it'll be greenlit, unless Rubin is saying it has been? Shaun is right on feedback tests and I think what all the reports are missing is that it "COULD" shut…
— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) October 15, 2024
‘Planning year 2 at this stage in budget meetings is pretty standard and doesn’t guarantee it’ll be greenlit, unless Rubin is saying it has been?’ Henderson wrote.
‘Shaun [Weber] is right on feedback tests and I think what all the reports are missing is that it ‘COULD’ shut down. Despite XD’s initial success, it has failed to generate the expected revenues.’
As shown with Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft has a track record of turning around poor player numbers in the shooter space, but it might be trickier with XDefiant considering it’s a new IP.
There’s also added pressure on XDefiant, as Ubisoft at large is …read more
Source:: Metro
