The executive producer on Ubisoft's free-to-play shooter XDefiant, Mark Rubin, has left the company. 

Taking to Twitter, the development vet confirmed that the title was being closed down and that sure had some stuff to say about what went wrong with the project. 

For one, XDefiant wasn't marketed particularly well, though this didn't stop gamers flocking to the shooter. Then there was the matter of tech problems with the title; Rubin says that the Snowdrop engine – built by Ubisoft Massive for The Division – wasn't really built for the kind of game XDefiant was. 

"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," Rubin wrote. 

"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." 

Ubisoft announced in December 2024 that it was shutting down XDefiant just two months after insisting that it had no such plans. Around 300 members of staff were laid off as a result.