Ubisoft Says That XDefiant Has Fallen Behind Expectations

As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen games rise and fall like the tides. The latest news about XDefiant is a bitter pill to swallow. Having played it from its beta stages, I was hopeful for this title, but recent developments have left me feeling like a jilted lover.

According to Yves Guillemot, the CEO of Ubisoft, the game XDefiant hasn’t been performing as well as anticipated due to some challenges the company is currently facing.

This week, news that XDefiant is facing difficulties slipped somewhat into the background amid what appears to be one of Ubisoft’s toughest times in recent years. Initially, it was disclosed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will now be released in early 2025 instead of its original date. This revelation was followed by a series of company-wide announcements, including Ubisoft’s board initiating an investigation into the company’s hardships.

Guillemot stated, “The sales figures for Star Wars Outlaws were softer than anticipated, and XDefiant didn’t meet our expectations either. We’ll provide more details about XDefiant at the end of October.” He added, “To a smaller degree, the lower-than-expected performance of XDefiant had only minimal impact.

Guillemot’s remarks stand in stark contrast to the company’s first-quarter sales report. In it, he stated that the game had a promising beginning, with growth in audience happening consistently and plans for a quarterly content strategy aimed at solidifying the game’s position over the long term.

Last month, TopMob reported that XDefiant was at risk of losing its much-needed post-launch support if it couldn’t be turned around by the end of Season 3, as the game has been struggling to see 20,000 concurrent players and an uptick in player spending. The report and subsequent community conversations led to XDefiant saying that the game “the game is absolutely not dying“, in a recent blog post.

TopMob recognizes that the game dipped below 200,000 Daily Active Users (DAU) for the entire month of August, but there was a 40% average increase in DAU during its daily rewards program. Although this looks promising on paper, maintaining player spending and fostering continuous engagement are key to keeping the game from needing life support. Currently, XDefiant management remains optimistic that Season 3 will encourage players to return and bring their wallets along.

For XDefiant, there’s a potential advantage: they might be launching on Steam. Although Ubisoft hasn’t confirmed this yet, their recent announcement that all future games will debut on Steam has sparked hopes within the team to pursue it internally. Fingers crossed, we could see XDefiant on Steam soon!

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam.