As part of its global savings plan, Ubisoft is ceasing game development at Red Storm Entertainment, developers behind numerous Tom Clancy titles, XDefiant, the canceled The Division Heartland, and more. In addition, Red Storm Entertainment will be downsized permanently, with 105 employees getting laid off. Now, the studio will be focused on behind-the-scenes technical work, focusing on the Snowdrop engine, along with IT and customer relations.
Red Storm Entertainment was founded back in 1996 and is most synonymous with titles in the Tom Clancy franchise including the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six series. Eventually, the studio became Ubisoft’s VR specialist with titles such as Werewolves Within, Star Trek: Bridge Crew, and what will now be its last game release, Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR. There were working on a Splinter Cell VR title in addition to The Division Heartland but was also canceled back in 2024.
This marks the third round of layoffs at Red Storm in as many years. Last year, 19 employees lost their jobs. In 2024, 45 positions across Red Storm and San Francisco were terminated.
Over the past few years, Ubisoft has laid off and fully closed numerous employees and studios. In January, Ubisoft announced a major company reset with the cancellation of six games including the long-awaited Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake and the closure of two studios, Ubisoft Stockholm and Ubisoft Halifax. There were also layoffs at its office in Abu Dhabi, RedLynx, and at Massive Entertainment.
They also announced plans to lay off 200 jobs at its Paris office which led to protests within the French capital. There were also 40 jobs eliminated at Ubisoft Toronto which is still reportedly working on the Splinter Cell remake.