XDefiant’s Final Moments: Bidding Farewell to Ubisoft’s FPS

I’m on a bit of a tangent here, but stick with me. So, there’s this game—XDefiant. Yeah, sounds kind of like it’s got its back against the wall from the get-go. Funny thing, right? Ubisoft, the people behind the likes of Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed, put together this FPS called XDefiant. Now, you’d think with that kind of legacy, they’d hit a home run. But nope, life’s not that simple. The game’s up against Call of Duty’s Black Ops 6, which everybody’s buzzing about. And honestly? It kinda feels like XDefiant was set up to fail from the start. But don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a flop of a game. I actually had a blast with it—brought back memories of Call of Duty’s golden years.

Let’s just say my love affair with CoD had hit a dry spell before Black Ops 6 came around. The thrill was gone, and I was lost in a sea of mediocrity. But then, along came XDefiant, with its old-school, three-lane maps (like a love letter to simpler times) and weapons that just felt right. No idea why I noticed this, but it stuck with me.

When the game finally launched last year, Modern Warfare 3 was practically on life support, so the timing was spot on. Sure, XDefiant had its hiccups—dodgy hit reg, anyone?—but who cares? I got hooked, despite the naysayers.

Season 1? A total riot. Even if I knew the game wasn’t gonna hold my attention forever. I mean, with giants like Destiny 2 and Apex Legends out there vying for my time, it’s a wonder I stayed as long as I did. Still, I could see myself juggling it with my other multiplayer haunts.

But fast forward to late 2024, and it’s all falling apart. The new CoD’s out, and XDefiant’s not fixing its issues fast enough. Felt like everyone was hitchin’ a ride on the Black Ops bandwagon, including me. I guess reports said XDefiant had two more seasons to prove itself or get axed. Spoiler alert: it didn’t make it.

In December, the axe fell. Ubisoft killed the sales, though if you already had the game, you got six more months. One last hurrah, piling up all the content they had lined up.

Here we are, June 2, my last dance with XDefiant before it goes off into that good night on June 3. Bittersweet, lemme tell ya. Jumping back into it was like finding an old friend—it just felt… right. Even in the shadow of its own shutdown, the game was alive and kicking.

Can’t really say if a bunch of folks came back for the farewell. But I didn’t have to wait long to jump into a match, and the internet’s filled with nods and goodbyes. Sure, folks might peg it as a flop, but there was heart in XDefiant. Lessons were learned about not taking things too seriously and hitting those nostalgic notes just right.

So, pour one out for XDefiant. It was a wild ride, and maybe it didn’t take down the big dogs, but it sure had a good bark. There’s a sea of other games waiting for us now, but I’ll tip my hat to this chaotic, short-lived wonder.

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