Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky

Former Senior Technical Artist @ubisoft
Kiwi, loves to rig. Technical artist and Generalist.
Former: Dota 2 Workshop Artist, Tin Man Games, SMG Studio

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

Hello #VisibleWomen!
✨I'm a 3D generalist focusing on both art and technical side of 3D.
✨Favourite area is rigging
✨Currently working as a 3D technical artist @smgstudio

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@AntonioJCintron Nice! 🤩

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@AntonioJCintron ❤❤❤

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@lumbrjim A lot of fun working on these. So glad we can see these live 🙌

[Mark Rubin @PixelsofMark]

Hello Everyone,

So here it is! Our last content patch for XDefiant. It’s obviously a bittersweet moment but I just want to say how proud I am of everyone on this team that did everything they could to make this game and all of its amazing content.

Ubisoft has not only allowed a small team to stay on and continue working to get our Season 3 content out the door, but we’ve also been able to add some extra content to this release from future seasons. So, we have our Season 3 content plus some of the content from Season 4, 5, 6,7 and even Season 8.

We are adding 3 new factions this patch with the Assassin’s of course that was planned for Season 3 but also Wolves and Omega Force from Seasons 4 and 5 respectively.

We are also adding 6 new Arena Maps and 3 new Linear Maps from future seasons. So along with the 4 new maps from Season 3 that’s a total of 13 new maps. And I have to say the team really went all out on these amazing new maps. If you do anything at all, you need to check out the new Rayman map that was going to be part of an epic event takeover in Season 4. It even has it’s own mode with Lum Hunt.

We’ve added a brand-new experience called Tactical that is all about corridor style maps with the first mode in that experience called Defuse; a 1-life classic Bomb mode.

We’ve added the ability to play against Bots in a way that would have allowed players to warm up or just chill out with less pressure but still gaining XP.

There are a few new weapons that were supposed to come in future seasons as well. Along with new cosmetics that have all been unlocked for everyone. There is new progression mechanics with Faction Mastery and Badges that the community would have to come together to discover how they all can be earned.

All of this and more are our last tribute to all of the hard-working people that made this game and to all of the fans who have been with us through this journey. Not all journeys end well but we can all be proud of what we accomplished.

I wish everyone who worked on this game directly or indirectly the best for their future endeavors. And the same goes for all of the fans who played our game, who streamed it, or who worked to build the XDefiant community.

Thank you all!
Mark

Link to Patch Notes:
https://t.co/oajlGAUoot

[Noah Alzayer @NoahAlzayer]

11 years sans layoff was a good run I guess, but I've finally been bit with the layoff bug.

Anybody knows of anything, especially remote, let me know.

#gamedevjobs #riggingjobs #remotework #gamedev

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

I said 'awesome' it upsetted some people. Opps 🤭

I had a great experience working on it.

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

Still processing this.. almost 3 years working with the amazing teams from Aus, SF and Osaka we produced an awesome game. Will cherish the experiences and will miss everyone. 🥺

[XDefiant @PlayXDefiant]

Dear Players,

Important message: XDEFIANT IS SUNSETTING!

Thank you for your incredible support and dedication to XDEFIANT. We regret to inform you that we are initiating the sunset process starting today, December 3, 2024.
As a result, new downloads, player registrations and purchases will no longer be available.
Season 3 will still launch. The servers will remain active, and the game will be fully playable until June 3rd, 2025.

For those who purchased the Ultimate Founders Pack, you will receive a full refund. Players who made any purchases within the last 30 days will also be fully refunded.
Please note that processing these refunds will take up to 8 weeks. For more details on refunds, please visit https://t.co/qe4cCr9mPh.

Below is a personal message from our Executive Producer, Mark Rubin.

Thank you for being a part of our journey.

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

On a more positive note I am moving to bluesky 👋https://t.co/2iVoEoHNj4

[Kayleigh East @keastarino]

I’ve been unfortunately affected by the layoffs at Ubisoft 😭😭 If anyone is looking for a game designer, please let me know!
I was previously designing faction abilities and game modes on XDefiant 💛

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@AntonioJCintron So greatful to have the opportunity to work with you and seeing you grow while being at Ubisoft. ❤

[Mark Rubin @PixelsofMark]

Hello XDefiant Fans,

I am unfortunately here today to announce that XDefiant will be shutting down.

Starting today (December 3, 2024), new downloads and player registrations will no longer be available. We will still release our Season 3 content in the near future (exact date TBD) and the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025.

For those who purchased the Ultimate Founder’s Pack, you’ll receive a full refund. Players who made any purchases within the last 30 days will also be fully refunded. Those refunds should happen automatically within 8 weeks of today and you can find more details on our official website, https://t.co/pNWQ3cifIZ.

A few years ago, Ubisoft and the SF Dev team embarked on a bold adventure to develop a new arcade shooter called XDefiant. It was from the start, an incredible challenge. Not only were we trying to shake up the genre by removing Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) while bringing back a more “old-school” arcade shooter experience, but we were also diving into the high-risk, high-reward realm of free-to-play. And for that I want to applaud not only the Dev team but also Ubisoft leadership for taking that chance!

Free-to-play, in particular, is a long journey. Many free-to-play games take a long time to find their footing and become profitable. It’s a long journey that Ubisoft and the teams working on the game were prepared to make until very recently. But unfortunately, the journey became too much to sensibly continue.

I am, of course, heartbroken to have to be writing this post.  Yes, this game has been a personal passion for me for years and yes, I know that not all challenges lead to victory, but I also want to recognize all of the developers who are being affected by this closure. Each and every one of them is a real person with a real life separate from our own and they have all put so much of their own passion into making this game. And I hope that they can be proud of what they did achieve. I know that I will always be proud and grateful to have worked with such a great team! A team that really punched above its weight class.

And what they achieved is truly remarkable. The early response from players when XDefiant launched was amazing—we broke internal records for the fastest game to surpass 5 million users and in the end we had over 15 million players play our game! That is something to be extremely proud of, especially considering how tough this genre is. So, thank you to all of the developers who put their passion into making this game!

If there’s one thing, I hope we can all take away from this experience, it’s the importance of open, honest communication between developers and players. This “player-first” mentality along with respectful, non-toxic conversations between developers and players has been one of the standout differences that made XDefiant so special. From my very first post about XDefiant, this was the vision I wanted to champion, and I hope it leaves a positive mark on how the game industry treats its players and communities.

To our players, THANK YOU! From the bottom of my heart, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the incredible community that has grown around XDefiant. Your passion, creativity, and dedication have inspired us every step of the way.

With the utmost of love and respect,

Mark

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@mickkrek Sorry to hear that. Anxiety is really awful. Sending hugs and please be kind to yourself. 🥺❤

[sol brennan @wuffles]

I have an extremely talented Rigging/Character TD friend looking for work at the moment. Any place would be lucky to have them - would appreciate any leads, if anyone is looking. #gamedevjobs #rigtips

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@Rolfeys_Room I had a panic attack earlier today and Snacks never left my side. She's usually under the heater or on the hammock during that time of day. They just know. ❤❤️‍🩹❤

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@tech_art_gent Also been enjoying it a lot. Not as many characters to follow compared to GoT. Also. Dragons. 😍

[Robbie Reid the Rigger @chowgood]

I've seen a few skirt rig demos around recently, so I wanted to share the one I've been working on. My automation is done through constraints, transform limits and some driven keys on the belt (To keep it as one joint). I will be releasing the full rig very soon, I swear

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@SadiesMore Congrats!!

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@rigstation Rarely on Twitter for mental health reasons. I miss the rigging folks. 😥

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@chowgood @h3ptapod @FanncyFox Ignore me. You already replied 🤣

[Steph Schipper ➡️ Bluesky @Stephors]

@chowgood @h3ptapod @FanncyFox 👀