XDefiant just issued an absurdly gigantic final patch for the free-to-play FPS that's already been removed from stores and will be taken completely offline on June 3rd, 2025.
"It's obviously a bittersweet moment," executive producer Mark Rubin wrote on Twitter while sharing the update, "but I just want to say how proud I am of everyone on this team that did everything they could to make this game and all of its amazing content."
Earlier this year, publisher Ubisoft laid off a huge number of developers in its San Francisco office, where many XDefiant developers worked. Finally, earlier this month, it did what everyone imagined it would do and began shutting XDefiant down, a sad outcome Rubin attributed to the volatility of the game's free-to-play model in a separate Twitter announcement.
- Despite more than $60 million in investments, Shroud-backed FPS Spectre Divide and its dev are shutting down after the first season failed "to cover day-to-day costs"
- Dauntless is dead: After a blockchain company buyout, a disastrous update, and brutal layoffs, the Monster Hunter-like action RPG is shutting down this May
People who downloaded XDefiant prior to its sunsetting will at least be able to enjoy the spoils of its new Frankenstein update, which takes pieces from several planned seasons and mashes them into one patchwork behemoth.
Most notably, the patch introduces three new factions: strategic Assassins, then Wolves, who use stealthy drone attacks, and the brute-force cyber soldiers Blood Dragon. XDefiant's final update also features several new modes – including the Turbo XD super-jumping contest and one where you gather XP by facing bots – and an optional prestige system.
"All of this and more are our last tribute to all of the hard-working people that made this game and to all of the fans who have been with us through this journey," Rubin continued on Twitter. "Not all journeys end well, but we can all be proud of what we accomplished."
Half-Life devs worried Gabe Newell "promised things that they couldn't possibly deliver" for the iconic FPS, but "they just didn't know" that they'd be able to do it yet
Former Valve exec recounts the meeting where Half-Life's publisher almost killed the iconic FPS: "Half-Life would quietly die. I was stunned"
