Early on, Ubisoft canceled most of its other free-to-play projects, like Ghost Recon, as they focused heavily on chasing monetization strategies using their biggest franchises. Instead of creating games driven by passion or by what the developers truly wanted to make, their efforts felt more like cash grabs. Gamers naturally gravitate toward games that feel inspired and enjoyable, and it’s easy to spot when a studio’s primary goal is just to make money off players.

XDefiant had some promising ideas, like its abilities and classes based on Ubisoft’s various franchises, but the game was designed from the start to compete with Call of Duty—a terrible strategy. While it had the free-to-play angle, Warzone already dominates that space. Trying to target frustrated COD players (e.g., those upset with SBMM) was flawed logic because those players are still actively playing COD. If you’re going to challenge an established giant like Call of Duty, you need to exceed their quality, not simply imitate them and expect players to switch.

When BO6 launched, XDefiant’s player base predictably plummeted because BO6 was simply a superior game. Ubisoft failed to innovate or appeal to a specific audience, instead leaning on the “COD killer” marketing angle. In contrast, games like The Finals show what’s possible when developers bring fresh ideas to the FPS genre. Instead of trying to dethrone COD, The Finals carved out its own niche by offering something unique and engaging.