XDefiant, Ubisoft’s free-to-play Name of responsibility rival, has missed the writer’s expectations since launching in Could — that a lot CEO Yves Guillemot admitted throughout a latest monetary name. However are there plans to close the sport down? Not so, its chief developer has insisted.
Rumors started circulating this week that help for XDefiant might come to an finish after Season 4, which closes out XDefiant’s 12 months 1 roadmap, if its participant depend failed to enhance. Ubisoft has but to announce participant numbers or income figures for XDefiant, with Guillemot promising to say extra on the finish of October.
Now, XDefiant government producer Mark Rubin, who works at Ubisoft’s San Francisco improvement studio, has responded to these rumors, insisting the corporate doesn’t plan to close the sport down after Season 4.
Nonetheless, in-line with Guillemot’s feedback, Rubin — who was an government producer on Name of Responsibility earlier than making the swap to Ubisoft — admitted participant numbers are down. This, Rubin stated, was as a result of Ubisoft has accomplished “little or no advertising” as it really works to enhance the sport. As soon as XDefiant is in “a greater place”, the advertising push will start, Rubin stated.
“To be crystal clear there are NO plans to close down after Season 4,” Rubin tweeted. “I’ve actually been in conferences as of final week to debate our 12 months 2 plans. However, proper now we’re tremendous centered on bettering the technical expertise (which incorporates netcode) and including extra content material for Seasons 3 & 4.
“Now we have accomplished little or no advertising so sure our numbers are down however that’s simply to provide the group the time to get the sport in a greater place earlier than we do larger spends on advertising to convey new gamers to the sport and to convey again gamers which have left.”
XDefiant launched into the brutal dwell service shooter market at a time when it had already claimed quite a few high-profile victims. Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League flopped to the tune of $200 million after Starbreeze’s Payday 3 suffered a disastrous launch final 12 months. Since then, issues have solely acquired harder, with Sony’s Concord taking place as one of many greatest PlayStation disasters of all time.
In the meantime, Ubisoft has endured an terrible 12 months with the aforementioned disappointing return from XDefiant and, most lately, Star Wars Outlaws. It delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows into 2025 following poor gross sales of Outlaws, and its staff in France are currently on strike.
In its latest observe to buyers, Guillemot acknowledged that the corporate’s “second quarter fell in need of expectations” and vowed to launch “a overview aimed toward additional bettering our execution.” He additionally addressed some of the cultural conversations taking place across the firm recently, which have intensified round Star Wars Outlaws and the upcoming Murderer’s Creed Shadows.
Issues have gotten so dangerous at Ubisoft that its founding Guillemot household and shareholder Tencent are reportedly contemplating teaming as much as take the corporate personal following the collapse of its share worth.
In the meantime, Ubisoft has ditched Epic Video games Retailer timed exclusivity for its PC video games and gone back to day-one launches on Steam, a transfer clearly designed to spice up flagging gross sales of its video games. Ubisoft has but to announce a Steam launch for XDefiant, nevertheless it appears like a certainty at this level.
Wesley is the UK Information Editor for IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You possibly can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
