Rumor: XDefiant’s Future in Doubt With Declining Player Count

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Rumor: XDefiant's Future in Doubt With Declining Player Count

Key Takeaways

  • Ubisoft’s XDefiant faces declining player counts, threatening its future.
  • The game faces pressure to boost player numbers before Season 3 or risk losing support.
  • XDefiant must compete with other popular multiplayer shooters to retain players.

As a seasoned gamer with a soft spot for FPS titles, I can’t help but feel a pang of concern for Ubisoft’s XDefiant. Having played my fair share of games that have come and gone, I’ve seen promising starts followed by tragic declines in player counts, and it seems XDefiant might be headed down that path.

As a dedicated gamer, I’ve been keeping an eye on Ubisoft’s latest title, XDefiant. The first season of this game introduced the GS Kommando faction from Rainbow Six Siege, brought back Capture the Flag mode, and added three new maps – Clubhouse, Daytona, and Rockefeller. However, recent reports suggest that if the player count doesn’t pick up, XDefiant might be heading for some serious trouble.

Since its debut in May, Ubisoft’s free-to-play rival to Call of Duty has been quite successful, attracting more than a million players within its first three hours and eight million in its initial week. The game’s blend of popular Ubisoft franchises such as Splinter Cell, Watch Dogs, Ghost Recon, and others has generated significant interest. Many were impressed by the game’s high-quality gunplay and intriguing map design. However, it appears that player numbers for XDefiant have been declining during its ongoing first season.

Based on information from Insider Gaming’s latest report, the outlook for XDefiant appears to be struggling. From discussions with insiders at Ubisoft San Francisco, it’s been revealed that since its strong launch in May, the number of XDefiant players and spending has consistently decreased, currently averaging around 20,000 concurrent players across all platforms. Moreover, Ubisoft leadership is said to be giving their San Francisco studio until Season 3 to boost XDefiant’s player count, or else they may discontinue support for the game. Assuming that Season 1 lasts as long as it currently is, we can expect Season 3 of XDefiant to start either towards the end of December 2024 or early January 2025, around the holiday season.

XDefiant Has Until Season 3 To Boost Its Player Count

This year, Ubisoft San Francisco has faced numerous challenges, including a contentious investigation into a questionable work environment and recent layoffs that impacted the development team of their game, XDefiant. The struggling player base of XDefiant adds to Ubisoft SF’s troubles, as they prepare for the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in October and Marvel Rivals in early December – two highly anticipated multiplayer shooters that may make it hard for Ubisoft San Francisco to attract lapsed and new players back to XDefiant by the end of the year.

It’s normal for a fresh multiplayer game like XDefiant to experience a drop in player numbers following the initial launch period. However, the severe player shortage issues faced by XDefiant might have been exacerbated by other popular first-person shooter games released this summer, such as Valorant becoming available on consoles. Here’s hoping that XDefiant manages to attract enough players to ensure ongoing support.

With the end of the first season of XDefiant approaching in August, it’s anticipated that Season 2 will kick off on September 24th, as suggested by the game’s current battle pass timer. In this upcoming season, players can look forward to the introduction of a new Ubisoft faction, novel maps, game modes, weapons, and additional features. It’s likely that XDefiant will hold another XDefbrief session next month to reveal all the exciting changes coming in Season 2.

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2024-08-30 20:05