Final Hours of XDefiant: Bidding Farewell to Ubisoft’s FPS

I’m on it! Let’s get into the mind of a real human—a tad quirky and imperfect. Here we go:

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Oh man, where do I even start with XDefiant? That game always had a rough ride, you know? Even with all the big-shot IPs like Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed that Ubisoft had. But considering Ubisoft’s recent track record, maybe it was doomed from the get-go. Live service games, they’re merciless, right? Keep churning out content or get left behind. And then, bam! Out comes Black Ops 6 like a freight train. I mean, that launch was something else. So, looking back, XDefiant burning out quickly seemed, well… kind of obvious. But let’s not say it was a bad game—it actually gave me a flashback of those classic Call of Duty days.

So here’s the thing. Call of Duty was kind of sluggish for a while—that’s just how I saw it. MW2, then MW3—it wasn’t hitting like it used to. Then along came XDefiant saying, “Hey, remember the good ol’ days?” Smaller maps, clean gunplay, a loadout system that wasn’t overcomplicated, and some neat class abilities. Chef’s kiss.

But oh boy, the rollercoaster of getting XDefiant to launch—talk about bumps on the road. May last year, it finally showed up—right when MW3 lost its steam. Sure, there were hiccups, like the sketchy hit detection. But still, something about it hooked me, even while everyone else seemed ready to toss it aside.

Season 1? Man, it was wild, hiccups and all. Though, deep down, I knew my obsession wouldn’t last forever. With fresh CoD content around the corner, and the likes of Destiny 2 and Apex Legends vying for my precious free time… Yeah, XDefiant somehow fit into the mix anyway.

Then, 2024 hits, and things started shaking apart. Black Ops 6 revived CoD’s mojo, and XDefiant? Still had its gremlins. People, including yours truly, slowly drifted away. Rumors flew around that XDefiant had a short deadline to turn things around. And guess what? It got axed even sooner than that.

December rolls in, and Ubisoft pulled the plug. Poof, erased it from stores. But hey, they let folks with the game downloaded play until season three ended—a sort of hurrah with all the content they’d planned. Today, June 2nd, is the final full sprint before they shut down tomorrow, and I popped in for a last dance with XDefiant. Honestly, I thought I’d get hit with nostalgia, but mostly I just felt a bit bummed out. Not to say I’ve played it recently, but when I did hop back on, the game felt intuitive—like slipping on an old pair of jeans.

Player stats? Psh, who knows. But finding a match was easy, and loads of farewell messages popped up online. Sure, XDefiant might go down as another one of those ‘Ubisoft flops’, but come on, it did a lot right! Definitely deserved more time to shine. True, it wouldn’t dethrone Call of Duty or any of those other FPS giants, but it had its charm. A reminder not to take things too seriously—enjoy the nostalgia.

And so—boom, XDefiant’s journey’s over. Gonna miss you, buddy. Not that it’s the end of the world; plenty of other games to hop into. Anyway, follow us on Google News for the scoop on PC games! And hey, hit up our Discord—chat with us about this or whatever else tickles your fancy.