Ubisoft Insider Says Employees Feel "Betrayed And Used" After Company Shuts Down 'XDefiant' And Lays Off Nearly 300 People
An Ubisoft insider has informed Fandom Pulse that employees are not happy with management at the company and feel “betrayed and used” after the company shut down XDefiant, announced the closure of multiple production locales, and laid off nearly 300 people.
Ubisoft announced in a blog post written by the company’s Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer Marie-Sophie de Waubert that it was shuttering XDefiant and would officially close down the game’s servers on June 3, 2025.
She announced, “Despite an encouraging start, the team’s passionate work, and a committed fan base, we’ve not been able to attract and retain enough players in the long run to compete at the level we aim for in the very demanding free-to-play FPS market. As a result, the game is too far away from reaching the results required to enable further significant investment, and we are announcing that we will be sunsetting it.”
She then explained, “Concretely, that means that as of today, new downloads, player registrations and purchases will no longer be available. Season 3 will still launch, and the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025, out of appreciation for both our dev teams who worked on it and for XDefiant’s active players.”
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Waubert then explained that not only was the company shutting down XDefiant, but it was closing its San Francisco and Osaka production studios.
She wrote, “Even if almost half of the XDefiant team worldwide will be transitioning to other roles within Ubisoft, this decision also leads to the closing of our San Francisco and Osaka production studios and to the ramp down of our Sydney production site, with 143 people departing in San Francisco and 134 people likely to depart in Osaka and Sydney.”
The game’s Executive Producer Mark Rubin provided more details about the game’s shuttering.
He revealed, “Starting today (December 3, 2024), new downloads and player registrations will no longer be available. We will still release our Season 3 content in the near future (exact date TBD) and the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025.”
“For those who purchased the Ultimate Founder’s Pack, you’ll receive a full refund. Players who made any purchases within the last 30 days will also be fully refunded. Those refunds should happen automatically within 8 weeks of today and you can find more details on our official website, XDefiant.com,” Rubin added.
An Ubisoft insider shared with Fandom Pulse that employees feel “betrayed and used” following the announcements.
Furthermore, the insider added that “there is no trust at any level” and that resentment towards management is seemingly growing.
This is not at all surprising. Hundreds of Ubisoft employees went on strike back in October.
French-speaking Le Monde reported that the French video game union Syndicat des Travailleurs·ses du Jeu Vidéo organized around 700 employees to strike the company in Montpellier, Paris, Annecy, and Lyon.
The outlet reported, “AFP saw around 50 people on a picket line in Montpellier and more than 100 in Paris, with Ubisoft offices in Annecy and Lyon also affected. The STJV union said more than 700 were taking part.”
One employee informed the outlet, “How long will it be before they start laying off workers and downgrading their ambitions?” She also described the atmosphere as “gloomy.”
The strike also spread to Italy according to the union. It reported in the middle of October, “Today, workers at Ubisoft Milan are also on strike, against a return to 3 days a week in office.”
It added, “Full support to them, and to Federazione Impiegati Operai Metallurgici.”
The French union noted that the striking of Ubisoft’s offices throughout France was primarily due to the company demanding employees being working in the company’s offices for 3 days per week for all employees.
The union shared earlier this year that Ubisoft management instituted this new policy given it knows “the consequence of its decision will be the loss of our colleagues’ jobs, the disorganization of many game projects, and the drastic increase in psychosocial risks for those who remain.”
Furthermore, it noted, “This decision is announced immediately after the failure of the profit-sharing negotiations. Exactly like previous salary negociations: management’s proposals were innaceptable, the negociations’ timetable was appalling, and management was deaf to the proposals of the various Employee representatives.”
The union also shared its demands:
A formal agreement on remote work: with a due process of real negotiation between management and unions. Not an arbitrary decision taken several months in advance. One which guarantees that each person can freely choose its number of remote days and when they are in the week, as well as beeing counted by the month and not by the week.
An immediate increase in all salaries to compensate for the drop in our living standards in recent years. The restoration of the profit-sharing at a 60% objective. The end of the gender pay gap and a higher increase in low salaries.
Actually listening to employees opinions by the implementation of a “social dialogue” worthy of the name. Management seems indeed to confuse monologue with dialogue.
What do you make of what this insider says about the state of Ubisoft and its employees?
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