Black Flag Resynced Devs Want You on the Picket Line

A week after Ubisoft laid off 51 developers at their Barcelona studio, those still at the developer are hoping for support from fans of the recently released (and quite enjoyable) Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.

Despite rave reviews and strong sales, the Barcelona team who worked on the game were reportedly losing their job no matter what, putting them in a no-win situation. In response, those still at the studio are planning a strike at Ubisoft Barcelona, taking place from Tuesday, July 14th, through Thursday, July 16th.

"After years or dedication to our team, the company has turn its back on us," reads a flyer advertising the strike. "We will never see the fruits of our labour, and the reward for our hard work will be the loss of our jobs."

In addition to a new mandate protecting those affected by the layoff, the Ubisoft Barcelona strike aims to deliver a five-year guarantee against future layoffs, a 60% monthly work-from-home ratio, a five-year guarantee against future layoffs, an d a review of salary improvement plans and social benefits.

Developer Strikes Have Become More Common in the Past Few Years

Ubisoft Barcelona is far from the only studio to strike against their employers in response to the constant layoffs in the video game industry.

Earlier this year, Quantic Dream developers went on strike in protest of poor working conditions, claiming they are understaffed and working mandatory overtime. "On the one hand, they tell you that you're more than just a foot soldier and that you have the freedom to make decisions," said one developer at the French studio. "But on the other, they make it clear that you're really just a foot soldier, since any decision that goes against management will be rejected."

"It's extremely hard to cope with on a day-to-day basis because you never know where you stand. You're working for nothing. It's humiliating." It's also a cycle that not only leads to developer burnout, but has plagued a troubled development cycle for Star Wars Eclipse, a game first revealed four years ago by the Detroit: Become Human developer. We haven't seen anything from the game since.

Workers at ZeniMax, the company that owns Bethesda, id Software, and MachineGames, went on strike against parent company Microsoft in 2024. Since then, they have been hit with layoffs, including the gutting of id Software earlier this month.

It's Been A Scary Past Few Years for Video Games

All of this comes at what has been a depressing time to be a video game fan.

The past year-plus has been plagued with drastic layoffs, anti-consumer decisions, and rising prices. Hard working developers putting out good games at Ubisoft, XBOX, and other studios are needlessly losing their jobs.

Sony, the company that proudly championed the importance of physical games a decade ago, will stop making them in 2028. Games are costing upward of $100, and hardware is even more expensive. After announcing a price hike for XBOX consoles, new CEO Asha Sharma said "console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027." Sony and Nintendo have also increased the price of their consoles, too. Normally, console prices go down as a generation goes on, but due to countless economic factors, the opposite has happened.

It's resulted in so many people in the industry and/or hobby reaching a boiling point, with both fans and developers fighting back against the machine. We've seen more developers protect themselves by unionizing, and if you ask me, it's a trend that should continue in order to help save the industry.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced

9/10

Released July 9, 2026

ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence / In-Game Purchases, Users Interact