Earlier this week, we highlighted the imminent shutdown of Ubisoft’s XDefiant servers, which has now come to pass, leaving the game completely inaccessible.
In the wake of the shutdown, Mark Rubin, XDefiant’s executive producer and former Call of Duty developer, revealed his departure from the gaming sector via a social media announcement, citing a desire to prioritize family. He also disclosed that Ubisoft had released the entire XDefiant team.
“In case everyone doesn’t know, the team behind XDefiant was all let go at the end of last year and I know many people have moved on to other studios, which is great, and I hope that for all of those still looking, that they find something quickly. As for me, I’ve decided to leave the industry and spend more time with my family so unfortunately you won’t be hearing about me making another game.”
Rubin elaborated on the game’s challenges, pointing to overwhelming technical debt from an incompatible engine, insufficient initial content, and minimal promotional efforts.
Despite these issues, Rubin praised his team’s creation of an engaging title featuring standout arcade-style maps, with upcoming seasons promising innovative additions.
“I would say something remarkable happened with this game in that although we had very little marketing, we still had the fastest acquisition of players in the first few weeks for a Ubisoft title just from you guys all talking about and promoting the game. But unfortunately, with little to no marketing, especially after launch, we weren’t acquiring new players after the initial launch.”
“I also think we made a decent impact in the space. We saw a lot of reactions from other games to what we were doing and that to me speaks volumes. I’m really sorry we couldn’t quite deliver and maintain this game for a longer time.”
While the outcome is disappointing, we extend our best wishes to Rubin. The game’s innovative aspects left a notable impression, and we hope those impacted by its discontinuation find new opportunities.
An archived interview with Rubin during his tenure on Call of Duty is available for viewing.