Ubisoft shooter XDefiant might result in more layoffs at the company, as sources claim that player numbers are in significant decline. While many live service games can have huge success at the outset, their future depends on consistent, profitable numbers in order to keep them going. There’s been many examples of this sharp rise and fall, like the MultiVersus beta and the gulf in numbers from Palworld’s launch to now.
Even just six months after launch, player numbers for Helldivers 2 have dropped from 458,000 to just over 21,000 on Steam . It also seems Ubisoft might be at a significant crossroads with its shooter XDefiant, with claims its support could be cut if developer Ubisoft San Francisco doesn’t improve the game’s player numbers soon. According to sources at the company, Ubisoft wants XDefiant’s player count to increase by season three, or it could face losing post-launch support.
The shooter is currently in its first season, with season two set to kick off on September 24. Following its launch in May across PlayStation 5 , Xbox , and PC, XDefiant appeared to be a success for Ubisoft. The company’s CEO, Yves Guillemot, claimed XDefiant had attracted 11 million players within its first month, while it was described as having an ‘encouraging start’ in Ubisoft’s recent financial report .
According to Insider Gaming though, XDefiant has since been ‘struggling to obtain 20,000 concurrent players across all its platforms,’ per a Ubisoft source, while a.