It appears there has been a major shakeup at Ubisoft with some workers let go. According to reports the reason for the job cut was to reorganize the company’s “Global Publishing central and [Asia-Pacific] structures” and to “enhance our collective efficiency”.
“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,” said Ubisoft in a statement sent to Gamespot.
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“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.”
What was not clear at the time of writing was whether the layoffs affected Ubisoft employees across the globe or were restricted to a particular region. Back in November 2023, Ubisoft laid off over 100 employees.
Since the last layoff, the company has published several games including Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Skull and Bones. The sales number of the former was reportedly low, although many players praised it as one of the best Prince of Persia installments in recent years.
Likewise, Skull and Bones reportedly broke company playtime records, despite suffering from low player count. Ubisoft still has a couple of games planned for release later this year including Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin’s Creed codename Red. The company plans to release further details about its lineup of games later this May.
A major internal shakeup likely happened at Ubisoft
At the time of writing, GameBaba Universe spotted a post from a Ubisoft employee who was leaving the company. Sally Da Costa who worked at the company as a social media publishing manager until March 2024 said “time has come for me to bid farewell”, although it was unclear if Costa left voluntarily or was part of those laid off.
“It is with a mix of emotions that I announce my departure from Ubisoft,” Costa wrote on LinkedIn. “While I am slightly saddened to leave behind the incredible experiences and memories, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside such a diverse and talented group of individuals from all corners of the world.”
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The layoff of 45 employees is likely not the only shakeup that happened at Ubisoft. We spotted posts from employees who said they were promoted in the company. It also appears there were new hires.
Zachary Bergeron posted that he had been promoted to Technology Team Lead. Dumitrel Miron also shared that he had been promoted to UI Technical Artist. Around the same time, Deyan Mollov shared that he was starting a new position as an IT Support Specialist at Ubisoft Sofia.
The last 12 months have been rough for video game workers with mass layoffs announced almost every month. In January Microsoft announced that it was cutting 1,900 jobs in its gaming division. The next month Sony cut around 900 roles across the globe.
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Other gaming heavyweights have also announced layoffs this year including Nintendo of America and Sega. Smilegate Barcelona was closed last month, and all its employees were laid off. Last year it was estimated that around 10,000 people lost their jobs in the game industry. In the first three months of this year alone, over 8,000 jobs have either been lost or confirmed to be lost.
Different factors have been fingered for the layoffs in the video game industry. While receiving an award at the GDCA, Larian Studios boss Swen Vincke said publisher greed was partly responsible for the mass layoffs in the industry.
