Ubisoft shuts down a support studio and lays off 185 workers

Following a string of misfires, Ubisoft is shutting down a support studio and downsizing elsewhere, with the company firing around 185 workers in its latest cost-cutting measure. Ubisoft Leamington, situated in the English town of Royal Leamington Spa, is no more as the publisher is scuttling the 50-person studio. It's also laying off employees in Stockholm; Düsseldorf, Germany; and Newcastle, England (Ubisoft Reflections).

"As part of our ongoing efforts to prioritize projects and reduce costs that ensure long-term stability at Ubisoft, we have announced targeted restructurings at Ubisoft Düsseldorf, Ubisoft Stockholm and Ubisoft Reflections and the permanent closure of Ubisoft Leamington site," Ubisoft told Eurogamer in a statement. "Unfortunately, this should impact 185 employees overall. We are deeply grateful for their contributions and are committed to supporting them through this transition."

Ubisoft bought the Leamington studio from Activision in 2017. It was previously known as FreeStyleGames and the team was behind Guitar Hero Live and the DJ Hero series. Since joining Ubisoft, the studio has assisted with development on the Tom Clancy's The Division games, Star Wars Outlaws, Skull and Bones and Far Cry 5.

Things have been tumultuous at Ubisoft recently, as the company is dealing with the fallout of several underperforming games, such as Star Wars Outlaws, which didn't meet sales targets. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown fell short of Ubisoft's sales expectations too, and the company shifted many of the game's developers to other teams. Ubisoft is also shutting down XDefiant in the coming months, with the publisher shutting three studios and laying off 277 workers as part of that decision. As Eurogamer notes, Ubisoft's headcount dropped from 20,279 to 18,666 by the end of September.

Perhaps aligned with those recent woes, there have been numerous reports that Ubisoft is seeking a buyer or that it may create a joint venture with Tencent with some of its assets included. The company said earlier this month (PDF) that it would "continue to drive significant cost reductions" and it had "appointed leading advisors to review and pursue various transformational strategic and capitalistic options to extract the best value for stakeholders."

Suffice to say, there's a lot riding on the upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows. Assassin's Creed has been a reliably bankable series for Ubisoft and it's arguably the company's flagship franchise at this point. Based on my early impressions, the game looks good enough and plays well enough for what the company needs it to do, and it seems to cater to both long-standing fans and series newcomers. There's a chance that Shadows could be successful for the company, but it's a mighty tall order for a single game to right a ship that's as large and unsteady as Ubisoft.

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