Ubisoft shuts down XDefiant, capping off their worst year ever | This Week in Videogames

[@SkillUp]

Thanks to Lost in Cult for sponsoring this video. Pre-order ends Dec 10 for ENHANCE: bit.ly/skillupenhance - use code SKILLUP for 5% off site-wide Pre-order ends Dec. 31 for DEAD SPACE: bit.ly/SkillUpLIC - use code SKILLUP for 5% site-wide

[@daLukasMain]

MAke timestamps

[@SimplexPL]

Behemoth VR is also coming out this week :)

[@MRSAMO]

L take on SBMM.

[@ZeroPlan3333]

Legitimate appreciation from a sponsor for the incredible work of art that is video games!!! 💪💪

[@AgingChris]

Ubisofts worst year ever..... so far

[@mitchellenderson7194]

Yeah, they seem deadset on constantly one-upping themselves and deepening the hole they’re in. I would be surprised if 2025 turns things around.

[@giganticzombie]

I actually have NO idea how it could get worse. But there is a morbid curiosity of what they could fuck up next...

[@wizzzer1337]

2025 is likely to be their last year at all...

[@lumpydark6173]

2025 lets gooooo!

[@thegameplayer125]

we gotta love the irony of the company that said we gamers should get used to not owning our games will need to start getting used to not owning their own company since they've had so many flops that they'll more than likely need to be bought out to survive

[@daLukasMain]

0:30 - Gamers / X-Defiant & Ubisoft 6:08 - Miyazaki and Elden Ring 2 7:13 - Horizon Zero Dawn Ripoff game 8:51 - Blizzard removes games from GoG 10:37 - Shuhei Yoshida leaves Sony 11:51 - Smilegate invests in Dan Houser studio 12:24 - Digital Foundry corroborates PS Handheld 13:04 - Google halts Xbox Cloud app 13:46 - Random Sales numbers for games 14:51 - Announced & Delayed 17:52 - Review Round-up 21:54 - Out This Week 26:43 - Put This On Your Radar 27:57 - Epic Store 'sort of free stuff' 28:28 - Xbox Gamepass 'sort of free stuff' 29:21 - PS Plus 'sort of free stuff' 29:40 - Nintendo Online 'sort of free stuff' 30:28 - Apple Arcade 'sort of free stuff' 30:50 - Prime Gaming 'sort of free stuff' 31:16 - Feel Good Story 33:05 - Outro

[@LordLiquidBaconII]

Thank you for the timestamps!

[@dankerbell]

skill up ought to do this officially with these videos

[@daLukasMain]

@@dankerbell I know. He wants us to sit through stuff we don't care about.

[@diegoperez-dc2yu]

but you do care, you did the timestamps for him lol

[@havok93]

Strength and Honour

[@kewlbot]

games just don’t die anymore, now they have to shut down the entire studio and kick all the developers out in the rain. rough times

[@robertshmurda]

executives can’t figure out a way to take responsibility

[@Chopzi11a]

If only they could make a good game, right? Or if they could make a good game, if only they could release it on Steam where everybody is at.

[@leithaziz2716]

@@Chopzi11a That's not enough, man. Look at what happened with Hi-Fi Rush and The Lost Crown. You can make a highly acclaimed game and STILL have to fire everyone involved.

[@leithaziz2716]

It's sad, because I find value in developers learning from their mistakes and being allowed to make a comeback. Wether it's No Man's Sky's endless support, FFXIV's resurgence or Cyberpunk's massive overhauls and updates.

[@themagictoaster2472]

It must be a terrible time to work in the games industry right now. Whether you make a turbo flop like Concord or an absolute banger like Prince of Persia, if it doesn’t make the numbers on the chart you get axed. Execs need a new yacht every year after all

[@youngkhronic2243]

“They had that avatar game… and when was the last time you heard anyone mention that” Austin somewhere: *tearing up*

[@justsomeguywithsunglasses8418]

His opinion on that game's story is still embarrassing

[@lumirairazbyte9697]

Foamstars has just outlasted Concord and XDefiant. Let that sink in. Edit: Foamstars will enter maintenance mode but will still be playable, so it has a chance to outlive both Suicide Squad and Skull and Bones. The party will go on. Edit2: Suicide Squad will also enter maintenance mode as well, after season 4. Although it will have offline mode so good news for fans.

[@onemorescout]

that is a horrible truth

[@Ashtarte3D]

Honestly, it should have too. Concord had no soul and XDefiant was just trying to be Slightly Different CoD. Despite the perceived similarities to Splatoon Foamstars plays quite a bit differently is way more fun than it has any right being. I just wish the characters weren't all "We have Kpop at home" looking.

[@Deadbeat-Senpai]

There aren't enough Splatoon likes, but I can fart in the Amazon and at least 1 hero shooter will smell it. Marvel Rivals has to fight to grab people, and it did, but it could have Concorded and died. The hero shooter genre isn't just over saturated, it's in a full pool.

[@csmadisun]

Uh... Squeenix have just announced they're stopping support for Foamstars in January, though it'll stay on-line for the time being. So while your comment is still technically correct, it's become much funnier in hindsight.

[@pomps8085]

What's that sink want now?

[@Aziraphale686]

'Questionable looking remaster' is a very polite way to put it. It no joke looks like someone just ran all the pixel art assets through an AI upscaling filter. The smoothing makes me feel like my eyes are covered in Vaseline.

[@MrBfg586]

What game are you talking about

[@jprsfragoso]

"Half of the team will transition to roles within Ubisoft, and to unemployment in a few months tops"

[@fentanylfrog8403]

Game clearly failed due to being exclusive to Ubisoft’s dogwater launcher and lack of support, but of course upper management will get off scott-free while the actual devs get laid off. I love the game industry 🙃

[@mosesking2923]

@@fentanylfrog8403 Keeping it current gen only hurt too. Even Black Ops 6 is on last gen consoles, Activision isn't stupid enough to leave behind half their player base.

[@imitenotbe]

@@fentanylfrog8403 I've been playtesting the game since August 2021 and the devs were just as responsible for how poorly the game played at launch and after. we gave them mountains of customer feedback and nothing changed in those 3 years besides getting worse.

[@gavo7911]

@@mosesking2923 That’s because the kinds of people who play CoD aren’t exactly hardcore gamers, it’s the kinds of people still using a PS4 to only play CoD, Madden, Fifa, and Fortnite lol

[@mosesking2923]

@@gavo7911 correct, which is why Xdefiant failed. I’m one of those gamers who hasn’t upgraded to next gen because I don’t see any reason to yet. I would have played Xdefiant if it released on last gen. A shame.

[@noelahg79]

Sony actually owns the Bloodborne IP. It's 100% SONY that has decided not to update or re-release.

[@KindlingEffect]

The community-built PC Emulation of Bloodborne is progressing quite well, though. Should be done in a few months, I think.

[@-castradomis-1773]

⁠@@KindlingEffectyeah the progress is incredible and from what I’ve seen you don’t need an insane rig to run it.

[@GM-xk1nw]

And Bloodborne is nothing in comparison to Elden ring (popularity-wise)

[@666slateran666]

I commented the same thing. Ralph is pretty ignorant there

[@pHixiq]

Of course it’s Sony. Why would they

[@fonics3208]

I honestly think half of what killed this game is Ubisoft's insistence to keep their new IP multiplayer games only on their horrible launcher. I can imagine it would've found a much bigger playerbase on Steam, I enjoyed the game but it was hard to convince anyone I know to try it out because you have to install UPlay.

[@Dystinction1]

Absolutely certain that's what killed it because my curiosity overrode my aversion to Ubisoft, but soon as I saw it was on its own launcher...

[@placksheep]

I was interested in trying Xdefiant and was sure it'd come to Steam eventually. So much for that!

[@electricant55]

Also, you know, absolute lack of marketing

[@dr_diddy]

​@@Dystinction1yup, I'd honestly buy outlaws and Shadows but I'm not buying it on steam to only boot that launcher.

[@leithaziz2716]

Bruh, I've tried to play Black Flag and AC2 multiple times in the last years, but I am NOT bothering with that launcher, so it always discouraged me

[@CriticalNobody]

XDefiant is the best thing Ubisoft has made in years so naturally it has to be taken out behind the woodshed to make room for 50 more Assassins Creed games

[@frankcrawley6632]

😂😂😂

[@frankcrawley6632]

Valhala 2

[@ashthegeek7400]

It’s not better than black ops 6 tho. That’s the problem

[@frankcrawley6632]

@ashthegeek7400 okay tbat game only around for a couple months anyway and i aint paying for it

[@DaMorg3]

The moment I saw that Xdefiant headline yesterday, I was like… “Yeah thats gonna be Ralph’s news of the week.” 😬

[@medinajessi]

Who's Ralph

[@0uttaS1TE]

​@@medinajessiRalph is SkillUp's actual name

[@medinajessi]

@@0uttaS1TE oh i didn't know yall were boys like that!

[@Rendhammer]

I think it's VERY important to point out (which SkillUp did not for some reason even though he is usually on the ball) that Path of Exile 2 is releasing in EARLY ACCESS. The full 1.0 release is not until sometime next year (I would guess around the end of quarter 2 or beginning of 3). So he has plenty of time to review it, if he desires, sometime next year.

[@ausoleil8269]

It must be difficult to say everything important in the few seconds he allocated to this news. Better than last week at least.

[@simpson6700]

and you have to pay for the early access of a free 2 play game...

[@yapp2yapp2]

you already know about it, why do you demand coverage for stuff that is clearly already covered. are you here to get information you already know? 🤦‍♂️

[@77rockcity]

Everybody knows 😉

[@pabloc4204]

@@simpson6700is that a bad thing because you want to play but cant? its not like its the full release of the game, its very fair for them to do it, POE 1 had a very fair monetization system and also was a f2p, its fair that they would want more funding for suge a huge project and they are still comitting on giving the full thing for free

[@fcpnch]

Thanks for the Garry's Mod shout out, Ralph! x

[@TheOnlyTaps]

"Horizon Zero Shame" 😭😭😭

[@oobynooby1]

Horizon zero interest

[@TheOnlyTaps]

@oobynooby1 💯😭

[@markhettenbach3141]

The joke I keep hearing is Horizon Temu Edition. 😁

[@TheOnlyTaps]

@markhettenbach3141 loooool 💯😂

[@AlphariousOmegon-d5d]

@@markhettenbach3141 i heard Horizon Temu Dawn

[@claytonrios1]

Ubisofts worst year where they had one good game to appreciate. Prince of Persia The Lost Crown and the team behind that game was split apart!

[@dr_diddy]

cos no one brought it

[@claytonrios1]

@D4C_LoveTrain1 Which is unfortunate because it's really fun.

[@fentanylfrog8403]

God I wish The Lost Crown didn’t have the Ubisoft name to tarnish it. Such a great Metroidvania, everybody I recommended it to loved it!

[@kamurotetsu4860]

This was the one good game they had this year, and they refused to make a sequel and disbanded the studio. Ubisoft are a garbage publisher.

[@_Cetarial]

@@claytonrios1>Ubislop game >”fun”

[@thegameplayer125]

we gotta love the comical irony how ubisoft, the company that said we gamers should get used to not owning our own games, are now wracking up so many Ls and releasing so many flops that soon they'll need to start getting used to not being an independent company since they'll need to get bought out and become a subsidiarity company to stay alive

[@HellPedre]

as much as we got used to not owning our games, THEY WILL HAVE TO GET USED TO NOT OWN THEIR OWN COMPANY lmaaoooo

[@RafaelHernandez-or8wj]

As a fan of The Finals it's hilarious to see it outlive both Concord and now Xdefiant. People have been trying to say it's a dead game for the longest. Long before these other games died yet it's about to have its 1 year anniversary and the gameplay continues to evolve with every season they add a new map new weapons and gadgets to keep things fresh. If you're still sleeping on it do yourself a favor and go play it.

[@CyberkillGames]

Yeah, The Finals still has a fairly sizable playercount.If you look at the Steam Charts, it's arount 15,000 players. Not CoD numbers obviously, but a very healthy playercount for a free to play game (Of course that's just on PC, we don't know the numbers on consoles.)

[@thedude8128]

Game will be closed down in the next year too 😂

[@vedaryan334]

​@@thedude8128I wonder why people celebrate and wish the demise of video games that are actually do something new and do it well

[@fentanylfrog8403]

⁠@@vedaryan334People just want another punching bag. It’s easier to have a snide and cynical attitude towards everything than giving sincere support towards talented and passionate devs.

[@it-s-a-mystery]

I hope it grows more too, it really deserves it. The only pvp shooters I've been interested in for a long time. I usually get bored quick, but not here.

[@TakumaNuva]

The constant layoffs in the industry hit me so much harder now since I learned a month ago that I'm about to get laid off from my job following a company acquisition.

[@NinjaRabbit29]

Damn dude I’m so sorry. I’ve been there, just keep going

[@MightyManotaur22]

sorry to hear that, I've been laid off twice in the last two years. job market is brutal. sending positive vibes your way!

[@0Gumpy0]

I cant believe shillup would try to bury Path of Exile like this

[@sabihrashid252]

He just wants fewer people to play on Friday so he has a chance to log on. Everyone knows the servers are gonna be cooked.

[@lpfbjorge]

Typical aussies keeping kiwis down

[@yapp2yapp2]

why would a top selling early access game need coverage?

[@pabloc4204]

@@yapp2yapp2 all games need coverege, i know people who never heard of Half life or portal or tf2 for example even though they have plenty of experience with steam and other games, all that said those kinds of more casual gamers probably arent watching videos like these like we are

[@Xl_Fenrir_lX]

lol you couldn’t even wait until you watched the full video before commenting that trash? He blocked off plenty of time to devote to PoE, it’s a top-selling, highly rated game. How much more exposure do you think it needs? If you came here just to hear PoE news, you should have just typed that into the search bar instead, dummy

[@jonisykes]

So happy that Splitgate 2 got a shout out. The original was so slick - can't wait for the sequel.

[@potapotapotapotapotapota]

Splitgate 2 is going to fail like all the other hero shooters

[@Tessa-u7u]

After the 900th layoff I'm just completely burnt out here. If you are working in this industry how delusional or just completely detached from the consumer side of things you have to be to think that making a f2p cod clone is in any way a stable project and job?

[@simpson6700]

It's weird, on the one hand the player base you could potentially reach is massive, but on the other hand that player base is so casual that they barely know any games besides COD and Fortnite, maybe they know Overwatch, but that might be a stretch.

[@leithaziz2716]

Being a video game developer used to be my dream, but it's so unstable, filled with harassment and prone to get you fired that it's discouraged me. Now I don't know what to do with my degrees.

[@Daniel__Nobre]

@@leithaziz2716what about going independent? Seems to be the best time for it. Not easy by any means, but maybe worth the try?

[@afunkymonke]

Because a lot of these studios wait til it's too late. Xdefiant could have had a chance if it came out a year or two before, but now especially with cod in gamepass it's just asking to fail.

[@Durp-E-Derp]

Ria do no worry, this year and the terrible layoff news is almost over... ALMOST! And then the cycle of 2025s layoffs of actually useful people to the industry will start so that greedy, useless CEOs, CFOs etc. can afford a 76th ship / 16th Island and a pinup of Todd Howard in speedo's... at least thats what i imagine the disgustingly rich buy? right?

[@unnero1]

"Well if PalWorld can beat Nintendo's lawyers, surely we can beat Sony's" I mean, yes, but also Tencent owns half the digital world so, not sure if SONY wants to poke the bear about it.

[@davitron86]

Vectorman and Toejam and Earl 2: Panic on Funkatron were both banger games in the 90s! I remember seeing Vectorman in the store and thinking "wow I live in the future"

[@DFGdanger]

Both Sega Genesis games. Interesting they are coming to the Switch.

[@davitron86]

@@DFGdanger Genesis has been on switch online for a while now

[@hemingttv]

after hearing skillup gush about balatro for the past 3 months i've finally bought it last week and... i get it now. my eyes are open to balatros glory

[@xenonsean7050]

The way my KZbin notification showed "Ubisoft shuts down XD.." made me giggle more than it should've.

[@TheLindenbeat]

The house of Ubisoft is crumbling.

[@stacked4637]

And I'm all for it, fuck those greedy scumbags.

[@1_underthesun]

And the house of GGG is rising. All is right in the universe.

[@Aussie_Tom]

It was only like 6-7 weeks ago Ubi promised Xdefiant would still be supported after Season 4...... Here we are and it's shutting down before Season 4 even starts. Fucks sake, even Suicide Squad's post release schedule is still going. Funny thing is a lot of the player base were saying Season 3 was the season that would either make or break the game. Looked like Ubisoft saved them the trouble and made that decision for them.

[@godzilla4189]

"Ubisoft had their worst year ever." Homer Simpson: "Worst so far."

[@gabeh711]

"Feel Good" story of the day --- I see you Ralph...I SEE YOU

[@LeonidasGGG]

I actually think that Xdefiant looked at CoD and was like: "It's ok we can handle them". But then they saw Marvel Rivals and were like: "Nop! That's too much". Also, did you know a dead game came back? That's right, Monster Hunter look-a-like FTP Dauntless had TODAY a major update where they actually removed a lot of the more grindy game mechanics and added a new Behemoth. I don't know why this was done, but the game was basically silent for 2 years and now... It's back, apparently.

[@frankcrawley6632]

Is it mp i might play with my gf

[@SamHarrison2099]

Calling it Sex Divers instead of Muff Divers is a clear sign of the lack of creativity

[@Hotshot2k4]

8:30: The "Official China accounts" of any developer or publisher are just a free for all, the actual company seems to have no control over them, while the account controllers have no regard for international law or PR. I've seen some heinous stuff coming from those accounts. I definitely wouldn't describe anything they spew as the official word on anything.

[@Thenezol]

Shillup hates Path of Exile (and all of New Zeland). Confirmed. You heard it here first.

[@hbeau1900]

He's clearly still salty about losing the pavlova

[@selectionn]

His brain is too tiny to comprehend POE anyway. Insane that he is completely ignoring it though. its massive news. Ive seen hundreds of Diablo 4 players who are openly admitting they are quitting d4 for poe2. And if you know anything about D4 fans, they love to suck on that games teat like its the only thing sustaining their life, they would NEVER admit something like that openly.

[@Thenezol]

@selectionn mine was meant as a funny, lighthearted comment. Yours reads like you inadvertently poured salt on your wounded pipi

[@Tronjheimr]

@@selectionn You are missing the point of the original comment. wayyy off. Do Yoga or something, chill out. lol

[@LeadAHorseToVodka]

@@selectionn Unemployment final boss

[@DoctorChuck]

5:50 IIRC the Ubisoft NFT game is also plagued by a bug where one player just wins every single online match, even the ones they're not part of! This renders the game unplayable even for the dozens of people who wanted to try it.

[@Baytuh]

I'm personally not in the Ubisoft is done phase until AC Shadows comes out and if its bad and sells bad. AC is their best selling franchise alongside FarCry and both AC Valhalla and FC6 sold a crap ton. But i will say the experimental Ubisoft days are over like them doing for honor, hyperscape and Immortals Fenyx Rising.

[@justindemont6062]

Ah yes I to look forward to being the stealthy 6’5 black man in Japan with hip hop theme songs. Jokes aside I have zero faith Ubisoft seems less and less a game publisher/developer and more a dei showcase

[@gravelordpepper480]

​@@justindemont6062 yeah ubisoft is balls deep in the cult of DEI, such a shame

[@jjc5871]

If ubisoft even makes it to the release of shadows, which I’m about 50/50 that they will, shadows will bury them. I cannot properly express how giddy I am to watch that game fail.

[@TheRealSlimsagey7]

@@jjc5871 I'm with you, I will take an immeasurable amount of glee watching this flop like Outlaws. Knowing they have to release it on Steam and they will be taking 30% of its revenue as well makes me tingle

[@i_like_lemons]

​@@jjc5871Lmao same, this is probably the only time ever that I'm excited for a game that I won't play.

[@Veekmon]

0:30 GAMERS!

[@Doriphore]

Was worried when it didn't drop yesterday!

[@INMATEofARKHAM]

My days are all messed up this week, but now that you mentioned it, yeah... I did realize something was missing from my normal Wednesday.

[@onemorescout]

Probably because of Indiana Jones

[@njsteere]

It’s been Thursdays for a few weeks now. But they haven’t said anything about it.

[@stalkholm5227]

For folks on the fence about Legacy of Kain, let me up the ante by saying it has some of the best writing and voice acting of any game series ever. Seriously, it's art.

[@shadushio9682]

My number one source for gaming news. Thank you for your quality and consistency, SkillUp.

[@Cherenkov28]

32:41 That's one way to ensure your game isn't the next Concord. 😂

[@HonduranMegatron]

If AC Shadows doesn’t do well next year, then Ubisoft is done

[@ShirleyTimple]

You say that like legions of children won't be playing whatever they drop

[@xSabinx1]

Probaby do well, not as well as valhalla

[@vinesta]

It assassin's Creed at worst it will do average. People are addicted to this genre which never ceases to amaze me. I was done by Black flag

[@dr_diddy]

​@@xSabinx1yh it's assassin's creed, Mirage sold 5m, it'll sell well but will it sell enough for Ubisoft? apparently they expect 900m in Q2/3

[@GigglingStoners]

Dont threaten me with a good time

[@mightyforeigner]

277 with very expensive warhammer 40k habits... I feel naked, observed, targetted...

[@MrTmm97]

Was SO BUMMED to hear The Lost Crown team was broken up and won’t be creating a sequel. It was one of the best Metroidvania’s we have had in YEARS! I absolutely loved it! It had everything that make Metroidvania’s great… amazing and in-depth combat, tons of movement abilities, amazing world and level design with tons of rewarding exploration. To top it all off… awesome boss fights. It was BY FAR the best Ubisoft game released in years! Unfortunately…Metroidvania’s (MV) aren’t the most popular genre in gaming. Almost all the most popular MV have been indie games. Since the sales aren’t what a AAA developer like Ubisoft gets from mainstream popular IP’s, it’s labeled a failure despite it having review great by critics and people who have played it. It’s such a shame….if we had more AAA developers working on MV’s, it’s possible more gamers would see the games and give them a chance. Personally I had seen Hollow Knight for years and had it come highly recommended by a couple friends before I finally gave it a shot. It quickly became of the my favorite games of all time… and introduced me to one of my favorite genres of games now, being Metroidvania’s. Hollow Knight, Ender Lilies, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Ori and the Blond Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Nine Sols, Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, Blasphemous and Blasphemous 2, and more are all some of my favorite games. All of which I would have never even considered playing before I played Hollow Knight because I for some reason thought of all 2d/platformers games as “kid games.” I’m glad I was wrong. All of that said….. it’s extremely depressing to see Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown not getting more DLC or a sequel because it couldn’t meet Ubisoft AAA standards. I’m currently playing through Nine Sols for the first time since it came to console and absolutely loving it!

[@gctypo2838]

> Ender Lilies, Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, Blasphemous 1 & 2 Oh sweet more metroidvanias for me to try out

[@JamesRosier]

Concord "is to player counts what the Scaramucci is to time". Chef's kiss on the writing SkillUp

[@njsteere]

Your Outer Wilds timestamp for TWIVG: 0:04 ✅

[@AJDraws]

Just noticed that Aussies say 'more' just like Arnold Schwarzenegger does. 'MOWAH!' I love it.

[@shadushio9682]

One of the only places I trust for very well thought out and articulate gaming news.

[@rebelstrife]

The fact that he thinks Toejam and Earl and Vectorman aren't real killed me.

[@alexs_toy_barn]

Issues with XDefiant, in no particular order, that doomed the game. 1: it wasn't on steam, which is where most core gamers are who would've been the main audience for a game like this 2: the BO4-like design stuff that skillup mentioned, the old school CoD players that this game was meant to appeal to didn't like any of that stuff at all 3: latency and technical issues were beyond awful, this might actually be the biggest issue with the game since it was never fixed and was so widespread 4: terrible cosmetics, so even if the player population was much higher, incomes would've been low since very little of the stuff for sale was appealing to players and payers 5: Ubisoft 6: overall lack of content and progression and challenges that gave players little to play and grind for

[@Justwist]

Real shame that Caves of Qud that released on the 5th didn't get any shout-out in the games releases section. This game has been in EA for 17 years and is such a great game that deserves at least a mention.

[@blank.e5plus]

he hates real indi game devs lol

[@Viridye]

och no, Ubisoft f it up again and I don't think they are stopping...

[@ArneoVT]

Ubi sowing "Oh hell yeah I love this" Ubi reaping: "This fucking sucks, why didn't they give me all their money now I have to end this game people are enjoying"

[@Dr_Bille]

God, GOG are so fucking consumer friendly It's nuts. If my steam library wasn't so massive already

[@PXAbstraction]

A couple of friends and I actually quite enjoyed XDefiant, mostly because it wasn't the insane maze of menus and other nonsense that CoD has turned into. The monetization was also quite reasonable. But it just never found its stride and eventually, the only people who stuck around were the cheaters and savants. Too bad, but not unexpected. I hope the laid off team members can land on their feet.

[@thedude8128]

You and your friends play 🗑️ and have 🗑️ choice in games 😂

[@PXAbstraction]

@thedude8128 You come up with that feat of wits all by yourself or did you need your Mom's help?

[@drogozi3308]

Yeah, had a suprising amount of fun with buds for about a week but it just didn't stick. Shame honestly.

[@Conankun66YT]

When you talked about it, I was really expecting you to bring up the absolutely off-the-walls insane system requirements of the Indiana Jones game that Bethesda have released 24:15

[@concinnus]

Isn't the minimum a 2060, the worst card from a generation that started 6 years ago? Or just get an XSX, where it actually runs well @60fps? The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

[@joaovictor-yu1qu]

26:50 very cool to see this here. As a Brazilian and a fan of the channel, this is an awesome crossover moment! I'll start my playthrough tomorrow!

[@lipeprusch]

I had lost hope Skill Up would talk about it, I was having lunch with the video in the background as usual and then I heard the song… wait a minute! 😅 Very happy to see Skill Up putting Enigma of Fear in the spotlight it deserves..

[@HazmatPyro]

18:36 Skill Up! Red Thread Games is not the dev behind Nine Sols, The game is instead from RedCandleGames.

[@Karragh]

Ralph a bit of a correction: Aliens the dark descent is not a coop shooter game, You were probably mixing it up with Colonial Marines. dark descent is a single player top down real time squad tactics game, it is actually really interesting and unique, worth checking out.

[@vexorian]

10:30 What's with "Blizzard Executives"? We kept hyping up the Microsoft acquisition as if it was supposedly going to be good, but here we have MICROSOFT executives getting games removed from DRM-free stores, suspiciously before making sure they are only available in stores and subscription services they strategically agree with. The merger was a terrible thing for gaming and this is further confirmation that Microsoft was unable to fix Activision/Blizzard.

[@FriezaReturns00001]

Yeah that middle statement makes absolutely no sense if they really were committed, they should've fought harder to keep those games on the storefront or at very least suggest people transfer the . exe files over to their friends with a hint hint nudge nudge. While I am not playing Blizzard titles anymore at all, the fact that the gaming industry has been reduced to "you won't play these old games you will play these newer bad ones, keep consuming you slave" is really fucking pathetic and out of touch. So what, we should just flat out just pirate at this point? Insane. Insane I tell yah that we continue to let these shitty AAA companies continue to burn us left and right.

[@torvasdh]

I love GOG and CD Projekt. Been slowly buying more and more from their store.

[@General_Ward]

GoG has been doing good work for a while, I think it's time I take a peek.

[@adcast98]

Didn’t think I would hear someone talk about cut copy today, or ever. Great band

[@CoconutRouter]

Triangle Strategy has been on steam for like 2 years.

[@NooJies]

Not putting xDefiant on steam was such a throw. It’s a shame tbh, it was genuinely fun to play. With the base edition of CoD costing over $100 here in Australia, a well made f2p cod should have exploded.

[@iframe1278]

I bought the Lost in Cult Outer Wilds bundle. I was severely disappointed. The ship was just a piece of paper that told me to fold myself in a million complicated ways, it was the entire reason I even wanted it, it looked like an action figure so I indicated I wanted it for my bday to my wife. And, it was severely overpriced. I feel ripped off. I called them when I got it and said I had actually wanted the figure, not a piece of paper. I thought I had seen a plastic figure in the ad. They were VERY rude to me. Calling me stupid because I didn't realize the figure I had seen for 2 seconds in Skill Up's video was made out of paper. I ostensibly spoke to the owners of the company and they spoke to me like this. DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING FROM THEM. Hit me up, I'll fold you a fucking piece of paper and talk shit to you if you want the same experience.

[@bestsnowboarderuknow]

I had a very similar experience

[@killakameltoez7167]

Yeah, they were very rude to me also

[@depthempty3257]

omg their stuff is soooo overpriced

[@BobisOnlyBob]

You literally didn't read the product description. It was very, very clear that it was papercraft. Can't speak to them being rude, but caveat emptor: know what you're buying before you spend so much.

[@nicholasplant2129]

To add to the releases this week: Caves of Qud leaves early access today on Steam, Itch, and GoG. The 1.0 features a lengthened main quest, overhaul of UI, and SteamDeck verification. A day one DLC will also add pets to your game at the start of your quest. This game has come a long way in its nearly 15 yr EA so if you have never played it or need a good reason to return to it, this is as good a time as any.

[@leospeedleo]

Give me a sec, coffee is brewing for this masterpiece

[@Kasaaz]

Ubisoft hit the thermocline. They had been drifting downwards slowly for so long, always thinking they could just turn it around with one big thing. Once you hit that level the drop off is SUDDEN.

[@Girlthatgotsweeptbybarrons]

8:21 sauce inspired

[@MrFilsAime]

What did he mean to say? Lolol

[@Girlthatgotsweeptbybarrons]

@@MrFilsAime I think its supposed to be souls inspired but his australian got in the way

[@ArkanSenn]

😅 it took me a while as well lol

[@mannycaceres3195]

ok so look Ralph, your great dude...but while calling it aconspiracy is funny - Poe2 is just that freaking great. I think maybe what viewers might be noticing is that, we know reviewing is hard work and there is not enough t time to get to everything...and yet you made the time for Destiny Rising. Dont get me wrong, you like what you like and that is ok..but my guess at people saying "conspiracy" is more of a hard-lined version of people begging you to cover this. From business model, to the transparency fo the devs, to the stellar launch to the actual game itself. It so freaking great and your voice (deservedly so, has alot of push in the industry). much love you and FPS podcast.

[@permeus2nd]

I love how Ubisoft says departed instead of “”we fired them”” Departed makes it sound like they are leaving of their own free will like these people had a choice in the matter!

[@HellPedre]

came to write exactly the same, how did not Ralph mentioned that???? wtf is this guys on??? departed?!?!? FCK THAT SH1T man!!

[@garryame4008]

From my experience, the current SBMM algorithm used by cod leads pendulum swingy experiences: easy game, hard game, easy game, hard game. The experience didn't feel natural at all. I didn't feel like I got better, instead it felt like my K/D ratio was based entirely on whatever lobby the algorithm placed me in. You can get royally screwed if you play cod solo, based on 'team balancing'. I just want non-disbanding lobbies :( ALSO, the algorithm does NOT prioritize ping/latency, so that's another reason why you can get screwed by it.

[@izzaazzurri]

7:44 honestly still better than releasing horizon remake

[@chriswihulu]

True, I fear Horizon is getting the same treatment as TloU 1 and 2.

[@js2529the]

Cut copy is one of my favorites! That’s some high quality trivia there Mr shill up

[@thesailboatking]

I find it ironic how Ubisoft a couple of years ago took all their new games off of Steam. Wanting everyone to use their launcher exclusively (even though you still launched the Ubisoft launcher through Steam) and then ALL of their new games started doing worse. Their games weren't popular and people are unwilling to move to a new launcher just for Ubisoft games. Ubisoft+, moving their new games off of Steam, and mediocre games lead to their downfall. In addition to all the shit their executive team has done over the years no wonder Ubisoft is where they are at.

[@rocketboy1674]

Put this on your radar: Sly 2 & 3 are on PS5 BABY! Hell Yeah!

[@RedShadowOfSaturn]

29:40 I'm 44 years old, can confirm, those are all real games, I've played them decades ago.

[@sneezingmango]

The steam reviews added to the Release Radar Segment is one of the best things you lot have done and I appreciate it. TWIVG is still the best gaming news show out there (sorry jake) and it keeps getting better, Good work gang! ✨

[@rhodan74]

POE comes out in early access, this is not the final release. Access costs 30$, the final game will be free to play.

[@Jorquay]

I like the inclusion of Steam reviews, a clever and finger-on-the-pulse addition, Skill Up.

[@it-s-a-mystery]

I also found it bewildering seeing the conspiracies about Skillup not talking about PoE2's beta announcement. He had already brought up the game before, and it made more sense to talk about it this week since its happening soon after the announcement. This community is just full of "interesting" people, honestly.

[@RoryStarr]

Yoshida is a proper gamer and it shows in his decisions.

[@sixmike]

I think XDefiant's technical issues played a bigger role in its shutdown than is suggested in the vid, largely because it was magnified by the lack of SBMM. It's one thing to get dunked on by sweats, but when a not insignificant number of those kills happen after you've already rounded a corner, it's simply a more frustrating experience than you'll find in comparable FPSs. I can say for sure this was a huge reason why a lot of my friends stopped playing.

[@IMF1821]

Same for me and my group of friends. The netcode was miserable.

[@BigTylt]

It's even MORE frustrating when you dump an entire magazine into an enemy, watch approximately 20% of your shots register, and then get killed by them in 3 hits. Also, it's hilarious to look back on all the streamers and CoD "pros" claim that XDefiant would kill CoD because it didn't include SBMM. Where are they now? Not playing XDefiant, that's for sure.

[@SeriousPeaches]

Im so sad that Lost Crown under performed. It was a terrific, high budget metroidvania and had it released on steam day one without UPlay Connect, and had good marketing I have no doubt it would have been a huge hit. Its a phenomenal game made by people who clearly love games.

[@SPkiller31]

Ubisoft managed to snatch the defeat from the claws of victory.

[@sidneysimons2738]

24:07 “Whelmed” literally means exactly what you think “over-whelmed” means. So saying that you’re “whelmed” by these trailers means your jaw has dropped from excitement.

[@GeremyG]

Another week, another Ubisoft L.

[@CountDantesEdmond]

Skill up is the only one seeing such indifference towards Indiana Jones. I hear a lot of buzz, not as mush as the biggest franchises, but a lot for sure. And I don't inderstand why you already consider it a possibly nice but not great game, as you said quite a few times

[@canyouplease]

I liked Xdefiant, but I saw this coming 😔

[@versusforward]

What I think you're missing in your assessment of the good v bad of SBMM is that a casual gamer dad who plays with skilled friends will always get forced to play in lobbies with his sweaty skilled friends' SBMM enemies. Keep SBMM to ranked.

[@jeezybaby43]

Ralph hates POE2 confirmed.

[@ricardotaut7498]

Have we reached the point where there are more Dead Service than Live Service games yet?

[@miguelcollado5438]

GOG deserves our support.

[@EspyJW]

As someone who fits within the "low-skill gamer dad" demo... without the wives, or jobs... I feel so seen. Thank you, Skill Up ❤❤❤

[@shaggytoph]

19:46 don't do this. If you're saying someone's quote don't cut their name from the screenshot.

[@purplehaze47]

that Cut Copy fact had me literally yelling “WHAT?” at my computer screen haha

[@yosos2]

Poe2 fans are some weird creatures, they've been going insane online

[@BunnyBun11]

Great video man! Such high quality! Im more of a vanilla guy, but now i wanna play project brutality

[@anthonymaslow798]

"...with 277 workers "departing" Fucking sickening, they don't even have the integrity to call it what it is.