Ubisoft has declared that xDefiant is “absolutely not dying” as it shares the game’s development plan.
In a new blog post, xDefiant executive producer Mark Rubin acknowledged that the online first-person shooter, which launched in May, does need improvements, but insisted that it’s not dying and is actually “doing well”.
“I just want to quickly address the status of the game. i.e. is the game dying? No, the game is absolutely not dying,” Rubin said.
“We know there are things we need to improve like Netcode/Hitreg and adding more content to progression, but the game is doing well.
“We just want it to do better. And we do that by addressing the concerns of our community which has always been the plan. Ubisoft is very much behind us and has allocated more resources to the team in order for us to do that.”
The blog post also acted as a development update where Ubisoft shared xDefiant‘s roadmap for Season 2 through to Season 4.
Season 2 is set to arrive on September 25, and will bring a brand-new Highwaymen faction, a new Bomb game mode, three new maps and weapons, as well as new player progression features like event challenges and objectives.
Rubin’s statement comes after a recent Insider Gaming report claimed that the free-to-play shooter is struggling as the player count rapidly declines.
Sources at Ubisoft told the publication that xDefiant‘s developers at Ubisoft San Francisco have until Season 3 to improve the game’s player count.
A separate Reuters report from earlier this month also cited Midcap Partners’ analyst Charles-Louis Planade who said that interest in xDefiant has dwindled since its strong May launch, has seen a sharp decline in Twitch viewership, and that “the game would likely have a minimal impact on Ubisoft’s results over the next few quarters.”