It’s being reported that Ubisoft is undergoing another round of layoffs to “streamline our operations,” this time hitting its largest development studio and other groups across the world.
Per IGN, Ubisoft Montreal has laid off 98 staff members, along with another 26 across global IT teams and the Hybride VFX studio, which included artists that assisted on the production of Disney’s The Mandalorian series.
“These are not decisions taken lightly, and we are providing comprehensive support for our colleagues who will be leaving Ubisoft during this transition,” reads Ubisoft’s statement. “We also want to share our utmost gratitude and respect for their many contributions to the company. This restructuring does not affect our production teams.”
This year has been a challenging one for Ubisoft, which previously went through a round of layoffs in the first half of 2023. That round saw the complete shuttering of Ubisoft London, which worked on the company’s slate of mobile releases. Along with Ubisoft employees striking, delays for the game’s releases – including the troubled game Skull and Bones from Ubisoft Singapore – an earlier report from IGN revealed that Ubisoft employees spoke about turmoil and frustration over the mandated return to office for all Montreal employees and what was called “broken promises” from leaders.
Recently, Ubisoft launched Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the studio’s biggest game release for its tentpole franchise. However, it looks as though Ubisoft has more work cut out for itself as it continues with efforts to release its large-scale products, including Assassin’s Creed Red, the Japan set AC game that will follow-up Valhalla.
2023 has certainly been a complex year for video games. While the number of releases and quality games has been of exceptionally high quality, the quality of treatment of creatives and developers who make these remarkable games has been at an all-time low. Hopefully, with more time and efforts from developers to unionize and create joint support, developers and creatives in the industry will find more stability.
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