Sure, here’s my take on your request:
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So, XDefiant. Yeah, that game always felt like it was climbing uphill, right? Despite having a team with crazy experience from big franchises like Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed, it just couldn’t catch a break. Ubisoft, man, they’ve been on this streak of not-so-great game releases lately. Tough industry, you know? The live service games, they eat you up if you’re not throwing fresh stuff at players every five seconds. And then bam! Here comes Call of Duty with Black Ops 6, and honestly, it was a banger. Anyway, even though XDefiant got axed a little over a year in, I guess it’s not shocking. Expected, maybe? But let’s be real, it wasn’t a bad game at all. Nah, for a while there, it was a fun ride, kind of bringing back those old-school Call of Duty vibes.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m pretty hooked on Black Ops 6. CoD was kinda boring for a bit, but not anymore. Just my take. Modern Warfare 2 and then 3, well, they just didn’t stick, you know? XDefiant came along like, “Hey! Remember the good ol’ days?” Smaller maps, nice gunplay, a loadout system that didn’t make you pull your hair out – simple, cool stuff.
When XDefiant finally dropped, in May, Modern Warfare 3 was already losing steam. Sure, it had its quirks – dodgy hit registration, anyone? – but I was into it from the get-go, even though people were already writing it off.
Oh, Season 1, what a wild time! Even with those tech issues, I was into it deep. I knew though, it wouldn’t last forever, not with a new CoD coming and other big games like Destiny 2 clamoring for attention. But hey, it was solid enough to make my regular game rotation – for a while anyway.
Things started falling apart in late 2024. Black Ops 6 was rocking it, and XDefiant, not so much. I drifted away too. Couldn’t resist CoD’s new energy. There were whispers in October – just two more seasons to prove itself or bye-bye, XDefiant. Turned out, it didn’t even get that chance.
By December, Ubisoft was like, “Yep, see ya XDefiant.” Gone from stores, just like that. At least existing players had six months more with Season 3, sort of like a last hurrah with all the stuff they’d been holding back.
Flash forward to today, 2nd of June. Last full day before they pull the plug tomorrow. Hopped on for some final matches. Thought I’d feel all nostalgic, but mostly, just sad. Haven’t played in ages, but it still felt smooth and easy to jump back into. It may be on its way out, but it felt alive and kicking, ironically.
No clue if player numbers went up for this last ride. But finding matches? Easy. And people online seemed to be saying their goodbyes. Sure, you might call XDefiant another Ubisoft misfire, and I get that. But it had its moments, did a lot right, ya know? It might not have toppled CoD, but it reminded those FPS giants that playing loose and pulling from the past isn’t such a bad thing.
So yeah, farewell XDefiant. You might be gone, but there’s a bunch of other multiplayer games waiting out there. We’ll move on, but we’ll remember.
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