You guys need to read this because it is genuinely shocking how a company can celebrate hitting 2 million copies in 24 hours while simultaneously laying off the team that made it happen. Ubisoft Barcelona cut staff even as Black Flag Resynced was becoming a commercial hit, and the timing feels almost intentional given some leaked internal communications showing leadership applauding launch success alongside layoff orders. These developers have been working on this remake for years — over 100 people in Barcelona alone contributed to this project — only to be let go as it crossed into profitability. It's not just a few cutbacks either; the studio has seen multiple rounds of downsizing recently, and these latest layoffs hit at precisely the moment their work was being hailed as a win for Ubisoft's new direction.
Ubisoft's official stance is that this isn't about project failure but rather on restructuring efforts meant to improve efficiency across the organization. They claim they are moving toward leaner operations in response to broader market conditions, not penalizing the Barcelona team for Black Flag Resync specifically. Some of those laid off received only short notice and limited severance, which has led the local union to push back publicly about the lack of transparency around these decisions. It's infuriating because the game is actually getting good reviews and doing well financially — yet the people who built it are being discarded before they can even celebrate. The contrast between public celebration of launch numbers and private layoffs of their creators just doesn't sit right with anyone watching from the outside.
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/assassins-creed-black-flag-developers-in-barcelona-are-being-laid-off-as-ubisoft-celebrates-games-success
Ubisoft's official stance is that this isn't about project failure but rather on restructuring efforts meant to improve efficiency across the organization. They claim they are moving toward leaner operations in response to broader market conditions, not penalizing the Barcelona team for Black Flag Resync specifically. Some of those laid off received only short notice and limited severance, which has led the local union to push back publicly about the lack of transparency around these decisions. It's infuriating because the game is actually getting good reviews and doing well financially — yet the people who built it are being discarded before they can even celebrate. The contrast between public celebration of launch numbers and private layoffs of their creators just doesn't sit right with anyone watching from the outside.
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/assassins-creed-black-flag-developers-in-barcelona-are-being-laid-off-as-ubisoft-celebrates-games-success