The gaming industry is going through a challenging period of big budget productions and increasing competition. Ubisoft recently announced that it is feeling the effects of this challenge. XDefiant, the company’s new free-to-play FPS game, fell short of expectations and failed to meet Ubisoft’s financial targets.
Ubisoft CEO: XDefiant fell short of expectations
Ubisoft announced that its free-to-play FPS game XDefiant fell short of expectations. This shows that the problems at the gaming giant are getting bigger and bigger.
In a call with investors, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said that second quarter revenue expectations were lowered by 30 percent, largely due to lower sales of Star Wars: Outlaws by 30 percent, largely due to low sales of Star Wars: Outlaws. But he acknowledged that XDefiant also fell short of expectations.
This marks a drastic change from Guillemot’s comments earlier in the year when he said XDefiant was off to a great start. Reports revealed that the game was struggling to maintain its player base and increase in-game spending.
It was even stated that XDefiant could face closure if it doesn’t turn things around in Season 3. According to SteamDB data, it has rarely exceeded 20,000 concurrent players since launch. Ubisoft nevertheless said that rumors that the game is “dead” are not true.
Guillemot’s recent comments confirm that XDefiant is clearly falling short of expectations. Although daily player numbers dipped below 200,000 in August, summer rewards provided a short-term boost. Player engagement and monetization remain challenges.
XDefiant may come to Steam in the coming weeks. For now, XDefiant’s future at Ubisoft remains uncertain.
{{user}} {{datetime}}
{{text}}