Ubisoft has reportedly cut 55 jobs at two of its internal studios, Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft Stockholm.
It’s been a difficult couple of years for the video games industry, that much I’m certain many of you know to be true.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a major studio that hasn’t been affected by layoffs with CEOs citing volatile and uncertain market conditions; of course, the indie and AA sector hasn’t gone unscathed.
It’s a difficult thing to witness, especially when - on paper - the industry is thriving.
Advert
Ubisoft is the latest company to announce cuts across two of its Swedish studios, Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft Stockholm.
That’s according to a report by GamesIndustry.Biz which added that this follows a voluntary redundancy period held by the company last year.
The site reports that while some staff volunteered, “additional steps” have had to be taken after Ubisoft mapped its “future roadmap”.
Game Development Plans Remain Unchanged
According to an internal email we've seen, the layoffs are not related to the company’s financial performance and “the long term direction for the studios remains unchanged”.
Advert
As such, we should assume that while certain teams will have been affected by the layoffs, Ubisoft hasn’t altered its game development plans.
Massive Entertainment is thought to be continuing to support both The Division franchise, Star Wars Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, with The Division 3 in development.
Ubisoft Stockholm was founded in 2017 and functions mainly as a support studio; it worked closely with Massive Entertainment on the development of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, for example, a 2023 release which has recently witnessed a skyrocketing player count.
Advert
The internal email went on to add that the affected studios are working on “an unannounced innovative tech project” which will “play a central role in the development” of the company’s Snowdrop game engine.
Assumedly, plans for that remain unchanged too.
Of course, at a time like this, whether development plans remain unchanged or are shaken up completely, it’s more important that we think of the human cost.
This industry is nothing without the creatives and developers that keep it alive. Layoffs are a massive loss for us all, and we can only hope the affected individuals find work elsewhere promptly.
Advert
I should point out that these layoffs follow Ubisoft’s closure of Ubisoft Halifax last week, with Ubisoft Tornoto having undergone a round of layoffs in 2024.
Over the last couple of years, hundreds of employees across the globe have been affected by Ubisoft’s stark cost-cutting measures.
GAMINGbible reached out to a Ubisoft spokesperson for comment.
“The long-term direction for the studios remains unchanged, and Massive will continue to serve as the global home and lead for The Division franchise,” they said.
Advert
“In addition, they're moving forward with an unannounced innovative tech project under a refined team setup and will play a central role in the development of the Snowdrop engine and Ubisoft Connect.”