Ubisoft has laid off nine members of its publishing team. In a statement shared with Game Developer, the Assassin’s Creed maker said the cuts were made to facilitate the launch of its new Tencent-backed subsidiary.
“With the formation of a new Ubisoft subsidiary, we’ve made strategic structural decisions to ensure a smooth and swift launch,” said a company spokesperson.
“As part of this, some of our production and publishing teams will be transitioned to other Ubisoft brands and projects. Unfortunately, nine roles, primarily within our publishing team, are directly impacted. We are committed to providing support to everyone affected by this change.”
In March, Ubisoft secured around $1.25 billion from Tencent to create a new subsidiary that houses key franchises including Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry.
The company said the new division will focus on “building game ecosystems designed to become truly evergreen and multi-platform,” while also increasing the quality of its single-player narrative titles.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot claimed the move signalled the start of a “new chapter” for the company. “With the creation of a dedicated subsidiary that will spearhead development for three of our largest franchises and the onboarding of Tencent as a minority investor, we are crystalizing the value of our assets,” he added.
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So far, however, it has served to continue a steady stream of layoffs. Ubisoft laid off 19 employees at Star Trek: Bridge Crew developer Red Storm in July. Those cuts arrived just a few months after the company received Tencent’s sizeable cash injection.
Prior to Tencent coming onboard, Ubisoft closed down its studio in Leamington UK and downsized others in Dusseldorf, Stockholm, and Newcastle.
It also scrapped live-service shooter XDefiant and closed its Osaka and San Francisco studios in December 2024, resulting in hundreds of job losses.