Ubisoft, once the biggest gaming company in Europe, is now only a shell of itself. It’s no secret that Ubisoft has been doing poorly in recent years, and now, even more bad news related to Ubisoft: the son of CEO Yves Guillemont is shutting down 2 studios in both Winnipeg and Belgrade. Coming with these 2 shutdowns, layoffs are happening throughout the company in order to cut costs to keep themselves afloat. A source familiar with the situation has stated that cuts will be around 380 people. With so many people out of a job, this is another nail in the coffin for Ubisoft.
The layoffs happening in the company seem to have hit the Barcelona branch of Ubisoft the hardest, as according to Insider Gaming, the studio laid off 51 employees, which amounts to 28% of the studio, according to programmer Mataoui Chakib Souleyman at Ubisoft Paris. Barcelona Ubisoft was known for working on titles like Assassin’s Creed, Ghost Recon, and others, and now they will shift their focus to Rainbow Six projects only going forward. Many of these closures and layoffs stem from the Guillemont family, who are trying desperately to maintain control of the company, even as hundreds lose their jobs and the company’s image continues to suffer. And the fact that Ubisoft is dead set on generative AI, the image of Ubisoft continues to go up in flames.
As mentioned before, Ubisoft used to be an absolute juggernaut in the gaming industry. Still, with the constant release of lackluster games and poor management, Ubisoft has just fallen off a cliff. Ubisoft has been trying to rebuild itself by breaking itself into five creative houses. Still, with constant delays and projects being canceled left and right, it’s unclear whether, even with these new methods, the company can recover as it continues to bleed itself dry. And with Tencent and the Guillemont in a power struggle over who owns most of the company, the future of Ubisoft looks dark. Still, if somehow these people who work for them actually get a shot at game creation, maybe they can start walking towards a better tomorrow, as the company has the talent they just need to use it, but that may be wishful thinking at this point. Either way, Ubisoft’s future is truly uncertain at this point, and who knows what it will look like in the coming years.