Ubisoft Studio Offers Employee Buyouts Amidst Strategic Realignment Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment, the development studio behind The Division series, Star Wars Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, is offering voluntary buyouts to some employees. The company stated this move is an effort to realign its teams and strengthen its future roadmap. In a public statement, Massive explained the initiative as a voluntary career transition program. This program is supported by a comprehensive package that includes financial assistance and career support. The offer is primarily targeted at employees who are currently between projects and awaiting new assignments. Staff at the Massive studio in Malmo, Sweden have until December 13 to volunteer for the package. Notably, in its statement about the realignment, Massive Entertainment specifically mentioned focusing on The Division series, its proprietary Snowdrop game engine, and the Ubisoft Connect platform. The studio did not mention its other major recent releases, Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. This omission has led to speculation that these franchises may be deprioritized or effectively shelved by the studio moving forward. This is not an isolated incident within Ubisoft. Another one of its studios, Helsinki-based RedLynx, also announced a restructuring proposal. RedLynx stated this is part of Ubisoft’s global efforts to simplify operations, reduce costs, and improve prioritization and efficiency. If the proposal moves forward, it could result in up to 60 workers being laid off. These workforce adjustments follow a period of underperformance for several of Ubisoft’s key game titles, including the recently released Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. The company has been engaged in a broader cost-cutting strategy, which has included closing offices and conducting layoffs at other locations, including its offices in San Francisco, London, and Leamington. Internal company data shows that Ubisoft’s total headcount has already been decreasing. Last year, the number of employees dropped from over 20,000 to approximately 18,666 by the end of September. In a separate strategic move earlier this month, Ubisoft partnered with the Chinese tech giant Tencent to launch a new subsidiary called Vantage Studios. This new entity has taken over the stewardship of some of Ubisoft’s most valuable and long-running tentpole franchises, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. This shift indicates a continuing effort by Ubisoft to streamline its internal development focus and manage its major IP through new partnership structures.
