Update, 7/15/26:
Following the publication of the original story yesterday, a Ubisoft Barcelona employee set to be affected by proposed layoffs there reached out to Game Informer to provide additional details surrounding the strike, the studio’s work on Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, and more. They say that there were about 90 people at the strike rally outside Ubisoft Barcelona yesterday, but note that “despite that, Ubisoft is still offering us a very bad offer, that goes below any reasonable standard, and far lower than what you’d expect in this situation. Therefore, we will hold a new rally on Thursday, [7/16/26] during the new wave of negotiations at 10:30 am.”
This employee also explained that in addition to the development of underwater shipwreck exploration in Resynced, the studio also worked on the following in the game:
- All the swimming systems
- All the underwater mechanics, biomes, and animal behavior
- All the underwater wrecks
- All the smuggler dens
- 3 Main Quests: Proper Defenses, Diving for Medicines, Devil’s Advocate
- 4 Assassin Contracts
- All Naval Contracts
- The region of Gibara and the following locations there: Crooked Island, Salt Lagoon, and Mariguana Island
- All bosses (divided with Ubisoft Quebec once that studio joined the project)
- All combat enemy AI (until Ubisoft Quebec joined the project)
They add that the team did all of this with less than 50 people in two and a half years, and that Ubisoft “has made it clear that it doesn’t want” Ubisoft Barcelona to work on any new Assassin’s Creed projects, “so right now, the only hope we have as a team to ever contribute to an AC game again is from the community’s pressure, if they think that they liked what we’ve done. Otherwise, it will only be [Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six series] from now on.”
The employee shared the following new strike flyer and photo from yesterday’s strike rally:
The original story continues below…
Original story, 7/14/26:
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced launched last week, on July 9, and one of the various Ubisoft studios behind its development is facing impending layoffs, despite the remake’s early success. Ubisoft Barcelona, which is responsible for the game’s underwater exploration and tech, is set to lose 51 employees in the coming weeks as part of the layoffs. In response, the studio, represented by the Coordinadora Sindical del Videojuego union (CSVI), has begun a strike today that will last through Thursday, July 16, as reported by Video Games Chronicle.
During this strike, the CSVI union will be attempting to negotiate with Ubisoft over the proposed 51 layoffs. The strikers’ demands include the cancellation of the proposed layoffs, a return to the studio’s previous 60 percent remote working policy, the granting of previously promised promotions and raises, and stronger job security.
Ubisoft Barcelona workers, supported by the CSVI union, previously went on strike in February of last year in response to more than 500 layoffs at Ubisoft studios worldwide, as well as the closure of three development studios.
“Despite the game’s commercial success, 51 Ubisoft Barcelona workers will lose their jobs in the coming weeks,” a CSVI union statement on the strike reads. “After an intense production, the company claims a ‘strategic shift’ to justify these layoffs. After years of dedication to our team, the company has turned its back on us. We will never see the fruits of our labour, and the reward for our hard work will be the loss of our jobs.”
Notably, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, a remake of the original Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, sold 2 million copies in just one day after its launch, according to Ubisoft. It also ranked Top 1 on Twitch on July 9 – its launch day – and reached a peak of 99,451 concurrent players on Steam within 24 hours of launch, “making it the highest concurrent player count ever recorded for an Assassin’s Creed title on the platform,” Ubisoft writes in a celebratory statement released yesterday on July 13.
Many Ubisoft developers and other members of the game development industry have spoken out about these layoffs, particularly as they come after the successful launch of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced; it gives further credence to the idea that layoffs in game development are inevitable – if your game struggles, layoffs, and if it succeeds, like in this remake’s case, you’re still not safe from layoffs.
[Source: Video Games Chronicle]
[Editor’s Note: The article has been updated to provide clarity about the employee’s situation regarding employment at Ubisoft Barcelona]
The hearts of the Game Informer staff are with everyone who will be affected by these layoffs.