On Thursday afternoon, Ubisoft announced that it was forming a new subsidiary company with Tencent that will include the company’s three biggest franchises along with a number of studios. This has led to a number of employees within Ubisoft to become worried about mass layoffs happening in the coming months either before or after the deal with Tencent is completed.
Not long after the deal was announced, multiple current Ubisoft employees reached out to express feelings of uneasiness and concern about the future of the company. Specifically, those not working on Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six.
In an internal email acquired by Insider Gaming, Ubisoft’s Marie-Sophie de Waubert said that she understands that there is uncertainty and questions surrounding what’s going to happen. She also tried to calm any worries about those not working on the three franchises.
“I also want to be clear: if you’re not currently working on these brands, it doesn’t mean your work matters any less,” she said. “This agreement will benefit all of Ubisoft, giving us the means to spark more innovation and creativity across the board. This marks the beginning of a new chapter, and you play a vital role in shaping it.”
Despite the messaging, however, some aren’t buying it.
“We feel [expletive] if we’re not on the big three,” one current Ubisoft employee said under the condition of anonymity. “They can say these things in an email, but when it comes down to it, we feel like we know where priorities are.”
Said another employee currently working on an unannounced project, “I want to think our team is okay right now, but we don’t know. You’d think they’d have at least some sort of clarity for us before publicly announcing the deal.”
The other messages received all relayed similar sentiments. There is some excitement and hope that a turnaround is coming for the company, but until questions about their status are answered, those in various areas of the company don’t want to get happy.
“We just want to know what’s going on,” one source said. “They promised transparency and regular communication with us, but we’ll see if that actually happens.”
Insider Gaming has reached out to Ubisoft regarding what the deal with Tencent means for its employees and the possibility of layoffs. Should a response be received, it will be added to the article.
Ubisoft anticipates the full deal to be completed before the end of 2025.
What do you think the future holds for employees at Ubisoft? Let us know down below, and join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming forums.
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