Ubisoft Barcelona Faces Layoffs Despite Black Flag Resynced Success

In a surprising twist, Ubisoft Barcelona is facing significant layoffs right after the massive success of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. The game flew off the shelves, selling two million copies in just one day and smashing the series’ record for concurrent players on Steam, surpassing it by nearly 40,000. However, this positive milestone is overshadowed by the company’s decision to lay off 51 developers at their Barcelona studio.

These layoffs were part of a larger cutback announced last month, which also affected teams in Winnipeg and Belgrade. Ubisoft Barcelona has been a vital support hub for major franchises like Assassin’s Creed, The Crew, Ghost Recon, and Immortals: Fenyx Rising. Recently, they put their all into the underwater levels of Black Flag Resynced, showcasing their talent in creating immersive experiences. But instead of celebrating this achievement, the team is now facing job losses.

Manel Cota, a tech and gameplay animator at Ubisoft Barcelona, expressed his frustration on social media, stating, “Ubisoft Barcelona did all the underwater levels, and that same team is being fired right now because Ubisoft thinks that’s what we deserve.” This sentiment was echoed by Isabel Codina García, the quality assurance lead, who described the day as bittersweet. After dedicating over two and a half years to the Black Flag remake, she shared that the entire AC team was informed about the layoffs.

“After seven years at Ubisoft Barcelona, this is not how I imagined it would end. But I am genuinely grateful for the people I have met and everything I have learned along the way,” García lamented.

In response to the layoffs, the Spanish trade union La Confederación General del Trabajo has organized a three-day strike starting today. Their flyer highlights the company’s claims of a ‘strategic shift’ as the justification for the layoffs, while expressing the sentiment that after years of dedication, the company has turned its back on its employees. The message is clear: the hard work of the developers seems to have gone unrecognized and unrewarded, leading to these unfortunate job losses.