Ubisoft Is Laying Off More Developers A Week After Shutting Down An Entire Studio

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Ubisoft Is Laying Off More Developers A Week After Shutting Down An Entire Studio

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A week after Ubisoft closed an entire studio, laying off over 70 developers in the process, the publisher is announcing more cost-cutting measures.

First reported by IGN, and confirmed by Ubisoft in a statement, 55 members of Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft Stockholm are being let go. Ubisoft also added that their decision has nothing to do with “individual performance, recent deliveries, or the quality of the work by the teams.” Instead, this is part of a Voluntary Leave Program, first launched in the fall of 2025, to help provide “clearer visibility into the structure and capacity required to support the two [Massive and Ubisoft Stockholm’s] work and sustainable over time.”

Ubisoft added an additional statement regarding the future for both studios, as well as The Division franchise as a whole.

The long-term direction for the studios remains unchanged, and we will continue to serve as the global home and lead for to The Division franchise, move forward with an unannounced innovative tech project with a refined team setup, and play a central role in the development of Snowdrop and Ubisoft Connect. The proposed restructuring will begin with a focus on individual agreements and impacted employees are being informed directly and supported with care and respect inline with local regulations.

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IGN adds that development on The Division franchise, which Massive Entertainment developed, will be unaffected. Ubisoft Stockholm’s website references that they’re currently working on an unannounced game featuring a new IP, as well as Ubisoft Scalar, a “new foundational technology leveraging the possibilities of cloud computing to enable unprecedented freedom and scale for the games of tomorrow.”

The Stockholm studio had most recently shipped Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora in 2023, which was met with mixed reviews.

Both studios were also hard at work on the next entry in The Division franchise, which is reportedly unaffected by these layoffs.

Despite These Layoffs, The Division 3 is Reportedly Shaping Up Nicely

Following its unceremonious announcement in 2023, what was once billed as a major tentpole franchise for Ubisoft has flown under the radar. We do know that development for The Division 3 is “shaping up to be a monster,” according to Executive Producer Julian Gerighy. Still, Ubisoft has refused to show the game off following its random announcement. Remember, the original Division game was Ubisoft’s “one more thing” at E3 2013.

With Assassin’s Creed: Shadows headlining Ubisoft’s 2025 release calendar, 2026 is looking pretty quiet as of now. We know that there are more Assassin’s Creed games in the works, as well as the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, the previously mentioned The Division 3, and, supposedly, a Splinter Cell remake.

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Oh, and technically there’s Beyond Good & Evil 2, but let’s be honest, that feels like vaporware at this point, unfortunately.

Logic says that we’re due for a grand reveal of The Division 3 sometime this year. There’s plenty of room on their (publicly known) release calendar for it, and it feels like a natural fit into the world of multiplayer shooters with extraction shooters running wild. However, given Ubisoft’s recent history of cost-cutting and takeover rumors, it’s all up in the air at this point.