Ubisoft axes 185 staff who worked on Star Wars Outlaws and Skull and Bones

Ubisoft is shuttering one of its UK-based studios and laying off 185 members of staff, many of whom worked on recent titles like Star Wars Outlaws and Skull and Bones.

The Leamington Spa studio, with around 50 employees, is being closed permanently, while “targeted restructurings” in Dusseldorf, Stockholm, and Ubisoft Reflections in Newcastle will see another 135 staff lose their roles. As reported by Eurogamer, Ubisoft stated the decision was part of “ongoing efforts to prioritize projects and reduce costs that ensure long-term stability at Ubisoft,” which is just the latest in a long-line of layoffs from the company.

In December, Ubisoft announced XDefiant would be shut down, with a report from Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson adding that more layoffs would come in the new year and the studio would be closed down in February—so the latest announcement may tie into that and suggests there could be more to come.

Ubisoft’s studio in Leamington Spa was a support studio which assisted on the likes of Star Wars Outlaws and Skull and Bones, but the studio is most well-known for it’s previous stint under Activision where it worked on the DJ Hero games before then working on the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises, then being acquired by Ubisoft in 2017,

It’s been a difficult period for Ubisoft and it’s employees, as in June last year, the company laid off 33 staff from the Toronto studio amid a bleak year for the company which saw Skull and Bones, XDefiant, and Star Wars Outlaws fail to meet expectations. Unfortunately, it’s the individuals working on these games that always suffer.

Ubisoft have secured headlines throughout January amid reports the company could be up for sale, with Bloomberg reporting Chinese company Tencent is mulling over a deal,

The year hasn’t quite got off to the start the company would have hoped, with Assassin’s Creed Shadows hit with another delay that pushes the title back until March, while there’s still uncertainty around releases further ahead like Beyond Good & Evil 2, Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe, and the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake.