Ubisoft is closing multiple studios, resulting in up to 380 job losses

Ubisoft is closing its Winnipeg and Belgrade studios, and restructuring its Barcelona office, which could result in as many as 380 job losses, VGC understands.

Ubisoft Barcelona will be restructured to focus solely on Rainbow Six projects. In addition, Ubisoft has internally announced organizational changes within its Global Publishing team, which will see role reductions across the company.

Winnipeg was founded in 2018 and comprised of around 100 employees. It focused on developing technology for Ubisoft’s game engines, Anvil and Snowdrop.

Founded in 2016, Ubisoft Belgrade contributed to games including The Crew 2, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Riders Republic, and Skull & Bones.

The closures and restructuring come as part of Ubisoft’s global cost-saving plan, which has so far resulted in the cancellation of at least six games, the postponement of seven others, and multiple studio closures, resulting in hundreds of job losses this year.

In March, Ubisoft announced around 100 job losses at historic Tom Clancy game studio Red Storm Entertainment, which it said would no longer be developing its own games.

Ubisoft also proposed the elimination of up to 200 jobs at its headquarters in Paris, France, or around 18% of staff, and has confirmed layoffs at its Toronto studio and others.

The company says it’s aiming to reduce its fixed costs by an additional €200 million over the next two years. The cuts are part of Ubisoft’s announcement of a ‘major reset’, which will see its creative teams radically restructured into autonomous ‘creative houses’.