XDefiant launched to great numbers in its first five weeks, with Ubisoft claiming that over 11 million players checked out the free-to-play first-person shooter during that initial timeframe. However, the situation quickly worsened due to players leaving in droves.
In late August, only around three months after the release, insider Tom Henderson said that Ubisoft had become unhappy with player numbers and the microtransactions (or lack thereof) that come with it. Henderson also said that developer Ubisoft San Francisco was given until the end of Season 4. The news certainly made XDefiant fans uncomfortable, especially since Henderson is usually very well-informed on the publisher's plans. However, a few hours ago, Executive Producer Mark Rubin took to Twitter (X) to confirm the game won't be shut down after Season 4; on the contrary, the studio is working on improving the situation.
To be crystal clear, there are NO plans to shut down after season 4. 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 3 & 4. 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.
XDefiant is currently in the middle of its second season. The next season is scheduled to add a new faction, three new maps and weapons, a new mode and map type, a 'Bots Mode', private matches, limited-time modes, daily rewards, a Prestige system, a faction mastery system, badges, and a death replay cam. The fourth season will also add a new faction, three new maps and weapons, a new device, a major event takeover, weapons mastery 2.0, weapon skill challenges, and vote to surrender in ranked matches.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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