Ubisoft has announced it will shut down one of its studios in the UK and also drastically downsize three more in Düsseldorf, Stockholm, and Newcastle.
Ubisoft Closes Studio
Ubisoft will soon be one studio short as the company announced it will close its Leamington Spa branch in the UK. The closure will negatively affect the 185 employees of the studio, many of which will be laid off. A small number of staff will be retained under remote contracts. Ubisoft’s announcement coincides with the news that the company will downsize its offices in Düsseldorf (formerly Blue Byte), Stockholm, and Ubisoft Reflections in Newcastle.
The Leamington office was initially founded as FreeStyleGames by a group of former Rare and Codemasters veterans in 2002. It was first bought by Activision in September 2008 but in January 2017, Ubisoft acquired the studio and renamed it Ubisoft Leamington.
When it was owned by Activision, Leamington gained fame for its DJ Hero games, before shifting focus to work on the publisher’s Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises. Later, when it was operating under Ubisoft, the studio worked on AAA titles Tom Clancy’s The Division series, Star Wars Outlaws, Skull and Bones, and Far Cry 5.
Regarding the other offices that will be downsized, the Düsseldorf branch is best known for developing Anno and The Settlers. Meanwhile, Ubisoft Stockholm most recently worked on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora with Massive Entertainment. Finally, Ubisoft Reflections used to support some of the company’s AAA titles, alongside Ubisoft Leamington.
Why Did This Happen?
According to a Ubisoft spokesperson, the company is trying to “prioritize projects and reduce costs that ensure long-term stability”. To facilitate this, the company has decided to restructure, leading to the closure of the Leamington studio, and the downsizing of the other previously mentioned offices.
Ubisoft’s recent layoffs are part of the company’s ongoing effort to reduce costs following a series of underperforming game releases. These include titles like Star Wars Outlaws, which was not well received by fans, as well as constant delays to Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
These commercial flops have previously resulted in discussions that Ubisoft would go private, as shares had fallen quite a lot last year. In more recent months, Chinese media giant Tencent has expressed interest in purchasing a large stake in the company. However, it seems that Ubisoft’s boss Yves Guillemot wanted to retain overall control and has allegedly proven a sticking point.
With the company undergoing financial difficulties, now all eyes are on the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The game launches on March 20 and if it proves to be another flop, like many of Ubisoft’s 2024 titles, the company might have to resort to even more studio shutdowns and downsizing.
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