Ubisoft confirmed reports today that it plans to lay off almost 200 people as part of a plan to restructure parts of its studio structure in Europe. Ubisoft Leamington is now permanently closed, and Ubisofts Düsseldorf, Stockholm and Reflections will see the layoffs of multiple members of staff — 185 in total, according to the company.
Ubisoft Leamington began as FreeStyleGames Limited and developed the DJ Hero series under Activision. Ubisoft acquired the studio from Activision in 2017, after which it offered development support on titles such as Star Wars Outlaws and Far Cry 5. Ubisoft’s Düsseldorf, Stockholm and Reflections were also largely support studios, with many of them contributing to the development of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, among others.
A Ubisoft spokesperson told GamesBeat in a statement, “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. Unfortunately, this should impact 185 employees overall. We are deeply grateful for their contributions and are committed to supporting them through this transition.”
This is not the first round of recent layoffs from Ubisoft, as the company performed several rounds of staff reductions at various studios in late 2023 and throughout 2024. The layoffs are the latest episode in Ubisoft’s ongoing troubles, with the company reportedly being in dire straits following the tepid sales of Star Wars Outlaws. Most recently it’s discontinued its live-service FPS, XDefiant. The most recent news about the company is that Tencent, a minor stakeholder in the company, is exploring ways of stabilizing Ubisoft with the Guillemot family, which owns its controlling interest.
