Ubisoft Lays Off 100+ Devs and Effectively Kills a Legendary Studio

Layoffs continue at Ubisoft as the company reduces another 100+ roles from the classic Red Storm Entertainment team.

Red Storm Entertainment Is reduced To Tech Support Role

Screenshot: Ubisoft

Ubisoft recently went through a major restructuring that led to a handful of project cancellations, delays, and layoffs across the company. Although it may have seemed like the dust had settled as the company began to announce its future plans for the Assassin’s Creed franchise a few weeks ago, apparently the restructuring efforts weren’t complete yet.

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According to a report from Video Game Chronicle, this week saw Ubisoft reduct the iconic Red Storm Entertainment studio by 105 roles. This is a major blow to the North Carolina-based studio and, although the studio isn’t closing down, its remaining staff is being redirected to work on global IT and Snowdrop support.

Red Storm was founded back in 1996 by Tom Clancy and put its mark on the map with adaptations of several of his books. The early Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon franchises were created by Red Storm and have since gone on to become pillars of the Ubisoft brand. The reduction of the size of Red Storm Entertainment should not impact any current or future plans for the modern interations of the Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon franchises.

Ubisoft acquired Red Storm in the year 2000 and the team continued developing Tom Clancy projects for the next decade before transitioning to more experimental VR projects like Star Trek: Bridge Crew and Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR. Most recently the studio had been the lead on The Division Heartland, which was cancelled. That project falling apart likely was a major factor in the devision to dramatically reduce the size of the studio.

What Is Next For Ubisoft?

Screenshot: Ubisoft

As Ubisoft continues to scramble to realign its strategy and produce some new hits, it will be very interesting to see if any other layoffs and cancellations are on the horizon. It’s been a rocky couple of years for the company and it wouldn’t be surprising if more rough times were ahead if the last few months are any indicator.

The company has already shared that a Black Flag remaster is indeed in the works, along with a handful of other Assassin’s Creed projects. It will likely take a bit of time before the industry can actually see how all of the major changes behind the scenes at the company ultimately impact its upcoming projects in terms of quality and commercial success.

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