According to a report, Ubisoft’s upcoming FPS game XDefiant has been delayed due to a toxic work culture created by a group within the team known as ‘The Boys Club.’
A recent report by Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson goes into extensive detail about how XDefiant has been impacted over the years by a group known as ‘The Boys Club’ in the team. The group has been the leading cause of delays within the team and has caused a toxic work environment during the development of XDefiant.
What Is ‘The Boys Club’?
The Boys Club is a term that was initially given to a handful of executives and directors on the project, causing ongoing issues with the game’s development. Unfortunately, it has grown to a dozen or so people at XDefiant, both male and female, as the years have passed. The Boys Club’s growth has been the leading cause of missed deadlines, crunch, toxic work environment, and multiple people parting ways with the project.
“The Boys Club is a closed group of protected individuals who think they are better than everyone else and do as they please without any repercussions,” said one developer working on the project. Unfortunately, there have been multiple accounts of how negatively impacted many working on XDefiant have been. “There have been many instances where people have cried, had mental breakdowns, or stopped caring about their wellbeing because of the toxic environment fostered by the club,” it was said.
How Is ‘The Boys Club’ Impacting XDefiant?
The underlying issue with The Boys Club has been the lack of work ethic, distasteful behavior, and egos of specific individuals, creating an unhealthy workplace. “One member has no design experience or people experience and has been given directorial powers because of personal friendships,” said one source.Â
Although the Netcode has been a prominent issue for XDefiant’s team, it has been reported that it has been a known issue for years and could have been avoided if the leadership involved in The Boys Club had listened to the rest of the team. However, this was allegedly ignored because it did not come from the club but rather from the broader team. It has also been revealed that XDefiant has been taking heavy inspiration from Call of Duty during its ongoing development. This has, unfortunately, impacted the game largely as every creative decision in the past two years has apparently led to the question, “What would Call of Duty do?”
Unfortunately, this type of behavior is not uncommon in the gaming industry and was even seen occurring in Ubisoft just a few years ago. While it was believed that this type of behavior was being looked into by Ubisoft’s senior team, these reports indicate little was done, at least within XDefiant’s own internal development team. For more news on XDefiant, be sure to check out our Guide Hub.