Ubisoft Barcelona Lays Off 51 Workers After Game Release

Ubisoft laid off 51 employees at its Barcelona studio on July 9, the same day the studio's latest project, "Assassins Creed Black Flag Resynced," was released. The layoffs affected many developers who had worked on the critically acclaimed remake, which earned a Metacritic score of 84 and is among the franchise's highest-rated titles in over a decade.

The cuts were part of a previously announced restructuring plan. According to sources familiar with the studio, the Barcelona team had not been assigned a new project following the completion of "Black Flag Resynced," a situation they had flagged as a concern since the summer of 2025. It is common practice for Ubisoft to assign new projects to studios well before a current project ships. The decision to disband the team was reportedly made prior to the game's launch, leading affected developers to describe the layoffs as premeditated and unrelated to the game's critical or commercial performance.

In response, staff organized by the Spanish union La Confederación General del Trabajo went on strike. The strike actions, which began on June 30, are scheduled to continue on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons until July 16. The union has...