More cuts are happening at Ubisoft. The company has confirmed layoffs at Ubisoft Toronto, the studio behind games like Watch Dogs, Splinter Cell Blacklist, and Far Cry 6. But don’t worry, that long-in-development-and-still-totally-happening Splinter Cell remake is fine, okay?
On February 19, as first reported by MobileSyrup, layoffs hit Ubisoft Toronto as the company continues to cut costs as part of a larger corporate restructure. That process started last year following an infusion of $1.25 billion from Tencent that saw the company assume shared control over some of Ubisoft’s key franchises, like Assassin’s Creed. As part of this big shake-up, many Ubisoft devs have been laid off and multiple projects, including a long-in-development remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, have been cancelled. 40 developers were laid off, according to Ubisoft.
Ubisoft confirmed with Kotaku that the Splinter Cell remake, first announced in 2021, was still in active development despite the layoffs. That doesn’t really provide me with any confidence that the game will eventually ship, considering what happened to the Prince of Persia remake earlier this year. And now it will have to be made with even fewer people to help.
“Following the recent announcement of the final phase of Ubisoft’s global cost-savings plan and the discontinuation of projects, Ubisoft Toronto will be reducing its workforce by 40 roles. This decision was not taken lightly and does not in any way reflect the talent, dedication, or contributions of the individuals affected. Our priority now is to support them through this transition with comprehensive severance packages and robust career placement assistance,” said Ubisoft in a statement shared with Kotaku.
Ubisoft also confirmed with Kotaku that the studio will continue supporting projects such as Rainbow Six as a co-developer. In an internal employees-only email shared with MobileSyrup, the company explained that Ubisoft Toronto will remain a “key contributor to several codev mandates and service teams.”
