“The video game industry is going through a difficult period” – this introductory phrase is becoming all too common in daily news, but it accurately reflects the current reality. A layoff plan was announced today at Ubisoft Barcelona, which could affect 28% of its workforce, or approximately 51 employees. While this measure might seem to be part of a broader restructuring plan the company has been implementing for months, employees have not received it well at all.
Staff have announced that, starting tomorrow and continuing until July 14th, they will organize six partial work stoppages to protest these layoffs. They are also calling on the studio and company management to implement a series of measures, including: the cancellation of layoffs, a guarantee that the studio will not face further waves of layoffs in the next five years, the unblocking of internal promotions, the reinstatement of the 60/40 remote work model, and the alignment of salaries with those of other Ubisoft studios in Europe.
Although Ubisoft Barcelona has also been affected by the same difficulties confronting the entire sector, according to data from the Spanish newspaper El Economista, it is projected to show a profit of over 1,260,000 euros in 2025, while also being among the five most important and profitable development studios in the country. Its work has been recognized across Ubisoft’s franchise catalog, including Rainbow Six, Assassin’s Creed, Beyond Good & Evil, The Crew, Mario + Rabbids, and The Division.