Mark Rubin Leaves Ubisoft

Hires

05 June 2025 12:45

Ubisoft has officially pulled the plug on XDefiant, the once-promising first-person shooter that debuted in May 2024. Despite a strong initial launch, the game’s player base quickly declined, prompting the company to take it offline less than a year after release. Alongside the shutdown, Ubisoft has reportedly let go of or reassigned the team behind the game.

Mark Rubin, the industry veteran who served as Executive Producer on XDefiant, confirmed the news in a heartfelt social media post. In it, he also announced his retirement from the gaming industry after more than two decades of work at both Activision and Ubisoft.

“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,” Rubin wrote.

Known for his passionate work on shooters, Rubin expressed disappointment over the game’s demise but took the opportunity to praise the development team and encourage the next generation of developers to stay player-focused.

“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,” he said. “Thank you again to everyone who had so much passion for XDefiant.”

Rubin also reflected on the effort poured into the game by the team, despite challenging circumstances. “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!” he said. “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.”

XDefiant was initially seen as a potential contender in the competitive shooter landscape, but its momentum faded quickly amid criticism over content delivery, balancing issues, and lack of long-term support.

More:Echtra Games Shuts Down

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Mark Rubin Leaves Ubisoft

Hires

05 June 2025 12:45

Tags: Ubisoft

Ubisoft has officially pulled the plug on XDefiant, the once-promising first-person shooter that debuted in May 2024. Despite a strong initial launch, the game’s player base quickly declined, prompting the company to take it offline less than a year after release. Alongside the shutdown, Ubisoft has reportedly let go of or reassigned the team behind the game.

Mark Rubin, the industry veteran who served as Executive Producer on XDefiant, confirmed the news in a heartfelt social media post. In it, he also announced his retirement from the gaming industry after more than two decades of work at both Activision and Ubisoft.

“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,” Rubin wrote.

Known for his passionate work on shooters, Rubin expressed disappointment over the game’s demise but took the opportunity to praise the development team and encourage the next generation of developers to stay player-focused.

“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,” he said. “Thank you again to everyone who had so much passion for XDefiant.”

Rubin also reflected on the effort poured into the game by the team, despite challenging circumstances. “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!” he said. “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.”

XDefiant was initially seen as a potential contender in the competitive shooter landscape, but its momentum faded quickly amid criticism over content delivery, balancing issues, and lack of long-term support.

More:Echtra Games Shuts Down

Share:

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