Ubisoft has announced that 45 employees from its Asia-Pacific and global publishing divisions will be laid off in another round of layoffs. The company stated that this was part of a “streamlined operations” effort. Ubisoft Layoffs 2024?
Ubisoft laid off 124 staff in its VFX and IT divisions in November 2023 and 60 people from its customer support team in May 2023.
In a reply to GameSpot, Ubisoft states that it does not take layoffs lightly and will help those affected employees. It doesn’t seem like the layoffs are going to stop anytime soon, and it’s still unknown what will happen to these former workers. In this article, we will learn in detail about the layoffs at Ubisoft.
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More employees are being let go by Ubisoft
Layoffs are spreading throughout the gaming business. In that regard, Ubisoft has announced more. Nearly 10,000 people were laid off last year as the sector began to change direction. Many businesses, like Ubisoft, turn to live-service games to make the money they need to survive. Ubisoft released Skull and Bones in February and continues to rely on the live-service model. Regardless, avoiding layoffs was not possible.
Regardless of the company’s popularity, these situations look tough to avoid. In 2023, Ubisoft conducted rounds of layoffs. In May, it laid off 60 people from offices in North Carolina, Newcastle, and the United Kingdom.
In November, the business laid off an additional 124 employees because of its visual effects and global information technology divisions. Some former employees report being taken aback by the news, having received no prior notice.
Ubisoft announced that 45 more staff would be laid off. This time, the layoffs will affect the company’s worldwide publishing and Asia-Pacific teams.
“We are further restructuring our global publishing central and APAC structures. This is to adjust them to market evolution more efficiently and flexibly,” noted the statement.
“We have not made these decisions lightly and offer our affected colleagues full assistance. Additionally, we would like to express our sincere appreciation and respect for their contributions to the business.”
Some are still amazed to see a firm with blockbuster releases like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown face such losses. But others believe it is due to games like Skull and Bones pushing live services.
Some ardent players believe that the genre has soured overall. They are tired of paying more than the asking price to finish a game.
Ubisoft Games is still on track!
In spite of the layoff news, the business does not seem to be affecting the release schedule for its next titles. Star Wars: Outlaws appears to be arriving soon. Those working on the upcoming Assassin’s Creed game expect a big 2024 release. In addition to those titles, The Division Heartland and XDefiant, a free-to-play arena shooter, are still in production with no setbacks.
The purpose of these layoffs is to speed up game development by reducing the number of staff working on them at any given time. However, specific experts have observed the layoffs and have their insights to share. Swen Vincke, director of Baldur’s Gate 3, blamed layoffs on corporate avarice.
Vincke highlights the value of placing people with years of experience in the field first and using their knowledge to direct the process. He added that this can be done rather than laying off workers to increase profits.
Ubisoft cut expenses by €150 million
According to Ubisoft’s report,
“Tight control on hiring, organizational simplification, and focused restructurings” allowed it to cut the company’s overall workforce by 1,700 employees. That work reduced costs by €150 million annually. By 2026, the company aims to achieve cost savings of €200 million.
A bitter twist to their layoff figures was that Ubisoft claimed that employee retention “keeps improving” throughout the time it was making layoffs.
An affinity for the firm and higher morale may be the driving forces behind this retention. Employees clinging to their employment as thousands are laid off by Ubisoft and its rivals might also influence it.
Ubisoft’s fiscal year 2023–2024 full-year financial results have been released. They are positive for the business.
Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six witnessed a 33.5 percent increase in net bookings, bringing in €2.3 billion (about $2.5 billion) for the entire year. IFRS operating income for the year came to €313 million.
For Ubisoft, that enormous figure sets a new record. In addition, the business revealed a little
There was a 4% increase in “unique active users” for PCs and consoles compared to the previous year, for a total of 138 million unique active users.
Conclusion
The success is remarkable, with Ubisoft’s release schedule being a touch lighter than it has been for the past year. The business launched Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Assassin’s Creed: Mirage at the end of 2023. In February 2024, Skull & Bones made its debut after much delay.
In contrast, it plans to release Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Star Wars Outlaws, and X-Defiant in 2024. These games might help it meet its 2024–2025 goals of “solid net bookings growth.” Also, they will “slightly rise in non-IFRS operating income.” The mentioned games perfectly fit Ubisoft’s strategic focus on open-world adventure and games-as-a-service (GaaS).
But Ubisoft’s success comes with terrible notice. To reach those targets, hiring restrictions and employee layoffs contributed to a 1,700 overall reduction in the company’s employees.
