Ubisoft Hit With More Layoffs, ‘Assassin’s Creed’ And ‘Star Wars Outlaws’ Dev Cuts 45 From American Offices
In the latest entry into the ongoing wave of sweeping video game industry layoffs, Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry series developer Ubisoft has announced that they will be yet again reducing their staffing numbers.
Per Bloomberg, the France-based developer announced this week that they would be cutting 45 employees – all of whom will be reportedly be receiving severance pay and career assistance – across their San Francisco, California and Cary, North Carlonia offices.
“[This was a] difficult yet necessary decision was made to align these studios’ organizations with their future business and development objectives,” a Ubisoft spokesperson told the financial news outlet.
Notably, the office in San Francisco was responsible for developing such titles as Rocksmith and South Park: The Fractured But Whole, while the Cary team, also known as Red Storm, has made a name for itself with the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon franchise.
In adding insult to injury, these layoffs come shortly after it was discovered that Ubisoft has been spending absolutely massive amounts of money to wine and dine online influencers ahead of Star Wars Outlaws upcoming release.
This round of layoffs is but the latest to hit the embattled Star Wars Outlaws developer in the past year.
During the studio’s FY2024 First Half Earnings Report in September 2023, CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that Ubisoft had moved to cut roughly 1,300 team members across all of its offices as part of a major cost reduction plan.
Then, in November 2023, the studio confirmed that they would be dropping an additional 124 employees from their Canadian teams.
“In this context, today we announced that we are reorganizing our Canadian studios’ general and administrative functions and reducing headcount in Hybride (our VFX studio based in Montreal) and in our global IT team, which impacts 124 positions overall,” an Ubisoft spokesperson said at the time of the announcement. “These are not decisions taken lightly and we are providing comprehensive support for our colleagues who will be leaving Ubisoft during this transition. 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.”
And in April 2024, Ubisoft let go of 45 more employees, this time from their Asia-Pacific divisions.
“Over the past few months, every team within Ubisoft has been exploring ways to streamline our operations and enhance our collective efficiency so that we are better positioned for success in the long term,” the dev wrote in a statement to GameSpot. “In this context, today we announced that we are further reorganizing our Global Publishing central and APAC structures to adapt them to the market evolution with a more efficient and agile approach. Those changes will impact 45 positions overall. These are not decisions taken lightly and we are providing comprehensive support for our impacted colleagues. We also want to share our utmost gratitude and respect for their many contributions to the company.”
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