Ubisoft has confirmed another round of layoffs that have hit its San Francisco and Cary studios, the latter being better known as Red Storm Entertainment. This is the second round of layoffs to hit the publisher this year, although these are the first to affect these two studios specifically.
Ubisoft lays off 45 staff between the two studios
Ubisoft Entertainment has laid off 45 staff between Ubisoft San Francisco and Red Storm Entertainment today, August 16. The breakdown between the two studios is unconfirmed, although social media posts seem to suggest the majority have befallen Red Storm.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Ubisoft said the “difficult yet necessary decision was made to align these studios’ organizations with their future business and development objectives.” The layoffs are effective immediately and have left those affected scrambling to find new employment despite Ubisoft offering severance packages and career assistance.
Ubisoft San Francisco is the studio behind free-to-play multiplayer arena shooter XDefiant as well as the Rocksmith franchise. Meanwhile, Red Storm Entertainment is the studio behind free-to-play shooter The Division Heartland, although this game was canceled earlier this year. Previously it had worked on the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six franchises. LinkedIn posts show layoffs have affected a diverse range of roles including Creative Director Keith Evans, a range of game designers, and marketing.
This is the second round of job cuts to hit Ubisoft this year after 45 members of staff were laid off from its Global Publishing central and APAC (Asia-Pacific) structures. Last year, layoffs hit customer service roles at its North Carolina and Newcastle (UK) studios, its community and social media teams, Ubisoft Montreal, and special effects studio Hybride. They also closed Ubisoft London completely.
During its full-year financial results in May, Ubisoft revealed it had reduced its staff total headcount by 1700 roles since 2022. About 1,000 of those were staff cuts.