Waiting for XDLoadout

RIP XDefiant Really an incredible game at its core, just lacking in content for a live service game in 2024. It's a shame they're calling it early since I do think they could have built up a bigger playerbase over time but I guess Ubisoft is not in a state to take that kind of bet. I made XDLoadout last September to practice web development without even planning to publish it but received an insane amount of love and I had a lot of fun building it up into what it is today. Met some really great people in this community and I'm really thankful for all the support I received. I also really feel for all of the devs who are losing their jobs just before the holiday period. 💖

@ReeceHendrix SAME

I miss Reece Hendrix…

@PixelsofMark ...and that simply comes down to giving players what they are constantly asking for instead of trying to sell us engagement optimised, soulless mechanics. It felt like a game, not a product and multiplayer games haven't felt like that for a long time. Thank you.

@PixelsofMark With half the resources that you should have had you and your team managed to create, you and your team were able to create one of the best original FPS experiences many of us will ever play. With all of the issues and lack of content the core gameplay carried the game so far...

It’s a sad day for fans of XDefiant and for all of the passionate devs that worked so hard on this game. I want to thank everyone who played it and everyone who promoted it whether you were a big content creator or just a fan. Every voice mattered. In fact, 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. We had other issues though as well that we tried to be transparent about. For one we had crippling tech debt using an engine that wasn’t designed for what we were doing, and we didn’t have the engineering resources to ever correct that. I do personally think that in-house engines are not the valuable investment that they used to be and they are often doomed to fall behind big engines like Unreal. This tech debt included the dreaded netcode issues that we could just not solve given the architecture we were dealing with. And so, for many players with solid network connections (in both speed and consistent reliability) the game played well but if your connection had even the smallest amount of inconsistency the engine just couldn’t handle it and you would have a bad experience. Normally, you should be able to weather those bad moments on your network. But this was a major issue with XDefiant. Another issue we had was having the right resources to make content for the game. What we saw at Season 3 wasn’t even enough content in my mind for launch. There were some really cool features coming later in Season 4 or even 5 that would have completed the game in a way that I felt it should have been for launch. I can say everyone’s (devs, HQ leadership, etc.) heart was in the right place but we just didn’t have the gas to go the distance for a free-to-play game. So again, I really want to praise and salute all of the devs that worked on XDefiant! The cards were heavily stacked against you, but you managed to produce a really fun and terrific game! And I like to call it out every time I talk about it, but I think our maps were some of the best maps ever made for an arcade shooter. So, congrats to everyone for what they accomplished. 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. 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. I do care passionately about the shooter space and hope that someone else can pick up the flag that I was trying to carry and make games again that care about the players, treat them with respect and listen to what they have to say. Thank you again to everyone who had so much passion for XDefiant.

@wtfpeep_ Really appreciate that. Im not sure I'll find a game that I'm passionate enough about to put that kind of work in again but I'll always be open to it. You got big things ahead for sure, you had probably the most entertaining POV on XDefiant

@XDLoadout your project was never silly at all. it created a platform for many people under the radar to get recognition they deserved. keep doing big things and ill support you no matter what goat ! 🫡

RIP. I could talk forever about how poorly managed the whole situation was. But more than anything I'm just going to miss playing the game. Nothing ever hit like it did for me. 😢 Thanks to everyone who supported my silly little side project. It'll stay up as an archive. 🫡

@Logan30624 @PixelsofMark The devs didn't lack passion, half of them lost their jobs in the end. It's the executives that killed it.

It is a very sad day for the true lovers of FPS gaming. This game gave me a glimmer of hope that there are still developers out there who are genuinely passionate about what they create. Unfortunately that hope has been stomped out. @PixelsofMark thank you for an amazing game. 😢

@Nocturnal2002 Probably, I was playing a lot yesterday!

@XDLoadout I think I ran in to you yesterday? On the FC6 escort map?

@iSexAsianGirls Glad somebody got it 😄

Omega Force is such a fun faction in XDefiant No movement penalty from weapon classes so you can zoom around with LMGs, give this a try!

@Nightmanfrance @_vGael Yes, this is how I think it works anyway

@XDLoadout @_vGael Aighhttt so that means that if I have an lmg I would go as fast as a pistol ?

@_vGael @Nightmanfrance So my (untested) understanding of the faction passive is that all weapons have the base pistol move speed. The part I'm not sure about is whether attachments have an effect on top of that

@_vGael @Nightmanfrance So the way movement speeds work in XDefiant is that there is the base move speed (pistol) and then all weapon classes have a movement speed penalty applied to that base value. Some weapons are exceptions to their class (eg. MDR has SMG movement speed)

@NeroTheGhost @MRIXRT That's all rumours. While I see that the Tencent buyout is a likely scenario, I haven't seen actual evidence that XDefiant was shut down as part of a buyout plan.

@XDLoadout @MRIXRT Instead of letting XDefiant have it's biggest season yet and a possible increase in player counts, they decided to end it as part of their plan for a Tencent buyout.

This is something worth discussing: Ubisoft's xDefiant releases one final patch before ending production in preparation for shutdown However, the patch not only includes announced content but also everything unannounced: 13 new maps, three new factions, and future-planned skins

@vijaymaurya_ All I'll say is eventually, not my priority at the moment of course. Depends how bored I get over the holidays I guess 😅

@XDLoadout When is the update coming for S3 loadouts on the site?

If there is one thing Ubisoft needs to fix to survive going forward, it was perception and lack of trust amongst gamers. Balance sheets always speak the loudest but is another huge reputational hit really worth the savings made by not giving XDefiant another season?

@reaperreapzz Honestly I think the fact that it's so sudden and so shortsighted points to their financial situation being really severe. I can only assume the reason behind not waiting for season 3 is "we literally can't".

@XDLoadout With all the content that was planned the game would of done more than fine. Seeing all work going to waste is crazy.

@BcJuicebar For sure the game wasn't going to fix their financial issues on its own. A slow burning, moderately profitable game wouldn't have hurt though and would have restored some faith in their ability to manage a live-service.

@XDLoadout Ubisoft needed to slow down and not pull an Icarus whenever a game launched. Unfortunately even if they did give XDefiant more time it wouldn’t have saved their big corporation wallet. At least that’s what I think. I could be looking at it all wrong.

@XDI_gg If somebody wants to come thru with the server side code I am ready for my C++ era

@E_H_White Probably not in its current form. I know there are all of the theories of devaluing the stock for a buyout etc. Certainly possible and I think at this point a buyout is likely but the brand itself is losing credibility the longer it flounders.

@XDLoadout Needs or needed? Is there hope?