Summary
Ubisoftis shuttering its studio in Leamington, UK, and cutting jobs at three other studios. The Leamington team worked on titles likeCall of Duty: Infinite Warfarefor Activision before being acquired by Ubisoft and helping develop games likeFar Cry 5andTom Clancy’s The Division. Despite the relative success of those titles,Ubisoftis closing the office for good as part of a larger cost-cutting move.
While Ubisoft is one of the most recognizable names in triple-A development today, it’s faced its fair share of challenges in recent years. The company’sstock price dipped after theStar Wars Outlawsrelease— a game Ubisoft Leamington worked on — with many blaming the game’s lower-than-expected sales. It’s also had to delayAssassin’s Creed Shadowsseveral times, potentially suggesting increased pressure for the studio’s games to meet players' expectations. It seems the hard times are not over yet, with a round of layoffs coming for several Ubisoft subsidiaries.
In a statement made to gaming news siteEurogamer, Ubisoft announced it is permanently closing Ubisoft Leamington while cutting staff at Ubisoft Düsseldorf, Ubisoft Stockholm, and Ubisoft Reflections. All told, the layoffs and closure will affect 185 employees between the four locations. The news comes not long after the companyrevealed it would shut downXDefiantserverson August 02, 2025, just over a year after the game’s launch. Mark Rubin, the executive producer behindXDefiant, commented on how free-to-play games take a long time to turn a profit, and profit is the big motive behind these recent layoffs, too. In its statement, Ubisoft said the move is part of “ongoing efforts to prioritize projects and reduce costs.”
Ubisoft Studio Closure and Layoffs Will Impact 185 Employees
Shutting down Ubisoft Leamington and cutting staff at other locations may not be the end of the company’s money-saving efforts, either. A recent report suggested thatUbisoft and Tencent are considering splitting the companyinstead of making it private. The split would boost Tencent’s stake in Ubisoft properties, potentially injecting some more cash flow into the business while spreading out some of the costs of managing all of Ubisoft’s assets. It’s still uncertain if the two organizations will go that route, though any big moves may be postponed until it’s clear howAssassin’s Creed Shadowsperforms.
Regardless of what other actions follow, Ubisoft’s latest studio closure and round of layoffs are part of an unfortunate but persistent trend in the industry. In late 2024,Microsoft laid off 650 employeesafter laying off roughly 1,900 workers earlier that year. Sony, Bungie, Sega, and many indie developers have made similar decisions in the past year as economic headwinds persist for big and small game studios alike.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a well-known video game developer and publisher with a main headquarters in Saint-Mandé, France. Current CEO Yves Guillemot runs an array of teams responsible for some of the most iconic and well-known series in video games, with franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Farcry, The Crew, Just Dance, and more. Ubisoft also acts as a parent company for an array of other video game developers, including names like Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft Paris, Blue Mammoth Games, Red Storm Entertainment, and more.
